The Messenger
by Wolflmg
Summary: As the battle comes to an end, it's time for some goodbyes. PRTFPRWF.
1. The Message

_"No guys, hang on, I got you!" Wes held on tightly to the large pole, while using his other hand to hold onto Jen's, who had formed a human chain with the others, in hope of preventing them from being sucked into the powerful and deadly time hole, that had been created by the darkening storm caused by the Trizirium crystals._

_"This isn't working!" cried out Trip. The force of the time hole was just too powerful for him to hold on. Already he could feel his hand slipping right out of Lucas's grip. "I can't hang on for much-"_

_"NO! TRIP!" Lucas cried; he was vaguely aware of the others calling out his name. All of them watched in horror, as their young green-haired friend was swept right into the time hole, disappearing into the darkness. Never to be seen again…_

_One by one, the others soon followed, Lucas was the next to go. Katie tried with all her might to hold onto Lucas, almost crushing his bones, but the force of the time hole proved to be stronger and overpowered her. She, Wes and Jen watched helplessly as Lucas was sucked away. No doubt to end up wherever Trip had gone….to his death. _

"_We lost Lucas…" cried Katie. "And Trip!" It was heart wrenching, two of her best friends, were gone forever. _

"_There's nothing we can do for them now," announced Jen; she didn't mean to sound harsh, but there was nothing they could do. All that mattered now was that they managed to stay alive; it was up to them now to save the future and avenge their friends' deaths. "It's up to us now, we're the ones who are going to need to save the future." _

_Katie felt a few tears trickle down her face. She looked up at the raging time hole that had eaten her friends whole; as hard as it was, she knew Jen was right. There was nothing they could do._

"_Hang tight, it's getting worse!" Wes looked up to the sky, it was getting darker and growing more powerful. The monstrous time hole was growing, into an even more deadly storm. He had already lost two teammates; he was about to lose two more._

_But to his dismay, Katie's hand was ripped right from Jen's, and he watched powerless as she drifted away, crying out their names, but there was nothing they could do. She was gone, just like the others…_

"_Katie, noo!" cried Jen, her friends, her teammates, were gone… "Noo! This can't be happening!"_

_The storm raged on around them. Wes could feel his heart racing with fear, he couldn't lose Jen. He wouldn't. He would do all he had to, to keep her with him and not end up like the others. It was up to him to save her. "Jen, you've got to come closer to me and hang onto the pole." Jen nodded her head, and let him pull her closer, but then out of nowhere a gust of wind ripped right through them, causing their hands to break apart. "NO! JEN!" _

"_WES!" Jen screamed, holding out her hand for him to reach while she was being sucked up by the wind, but she was too far gone for him to reach her. "Wes….."_

"_JEN!" Wes cried her name, and watched as she disappeared, as the others had. Into the darkness, until she was no more. "NO! JEN!"_

"Jen!" Wes jumped up out of his sleep. His heart was pounding against his chest. His body was damp with sweat. "Oh Jen…" He ran his hand over his face, hoping to calm himself down and let himself know it was just a dream. Jen and the others were safe and sound in their beds. "Dream… It was just a dream," he told himself, but deep down, something inside of him told him, it had to be more than just a dream. It felt so.

Earlier in the evening they had gotten a call from Alex, saying things were going to get worse. So much worse that none of them would survive, but at the present moment his mind wasn't on his own life. He would gladly sacrifice himself to save the future, his home, but he didn't want the others, Jen, especially Jen, to share in that fate. Apparently Alex and the rest of Time Force thought so too. Alex said he was sending a time ship and that the four must return to the future, having to leave him behind to defend the city. He wasn't sure what scared him more, fighting alone or having to say goodbye to Jen.

He wasn't sure how, but somehow he had fallen for her, more than he wanted to admit. But she was engaged to Alex. She already belonged to someone else, no matter how much he loved her. He could never be with her, no matter how much he wanted to.

Wes started to hear a low pitched static sound coming from his wrist. He raised his arm up and stared at his morpher; everything appeared to be fine, but the low pitched sound continued. And then an all too familiar voice came through…

"_If you can hear me please respond…I don't have much time…"_

His heart skipped a beat and his face turned white as a ghost. That _voice_. He knew that voice all too well, and it wasn't who he thought it was, in fact never in his wildest dreams did he ever think this to be possible. "It can't be…."

"_Please respond, this is urgent, you have to listen to me…"_

Shaken up, Wes took a deep breath and shakily responded. "I'm here, go ahead…" Wes waited, but the voice didn't respond. Had it just been his imagination? But to his fear the voice returned, but now it sounded more urgent, as if the person on the other end feared for their life.

"_Are the others all right still? Are they still with you?"_

"What? Who?" But somehow, deep down, he knew. He knew who the voice was referring to. He just didn't want to believe it.

"_The other rangers, they're still with you? God, please don't let me be too late."_

Wes for a moment thought he could hear the sounds of blasters and explosions, but he shook the thought away. "Yes, they're in bed sleeping…"

"…_Thank God, I'm not too late…"_

"Not too late?" If he was confused before, this just doubled his confusion. "What are you talking about? What's going on?"

"_You have to listen to me, Wes. The others are in danger. They have to go back to the future…"_

"But they're going back tomorrow, Alex already ordered them to return."

"_They're not going to follow his orders. They are planning on staying behind. That cannot happen. They must return to their own time, or--"_

"Or what?"

"…_Or…Or they'll die, killed by Ransik and an army of _Cyclobots_,"_

This couldn't be happening. This had to be some kind of nightmare. Wes lay in his bed staring at his morpher, not knowing what to say or do next.

"_I know it will be difficult, but you must use the time ship to send them back. It's the only way they'll be safe. …It's the only way she'll survive…"_

"Who are you…" He wasn't sure why he even asked. He already knew the answer. Maybe he just needed some reassurance, that the person on the other end was who he thought it was, and not his mind playing tricks on him.

"_You already know the answer… I'm sorry I have to go now. I don't have much time left… It's up to you now… But do me a favor, tell Jen that------"_

Wes heard a loud noise and then nothing, complete silence. "Hello? Are you there?" But no one answered on the other end. What had happened, or more importantly, what would happen? A sickening feeling came over him, and as hard as it was, it was time for him to take matters into his own hands. He wasn't about to let his nightmare come true, even at the cost of losing them, losing her forever, all that mattered was them being safe in the future.

Wes turned at the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs, and one by one he watched as his friends came back up. They had been downstairs this whole time, no doubt deciding they were going to stay and fight by his side, just as the messenger had said. He lay back down quickly, closing his eyes, pretending to be asleep. He sighed heavily, as he constructed a plan to send them back home. He hated the thought of the idea, but he couldn't bear to watch them all die. He couldn't watch Jen die, even at the cost of betraying their trust. It was the only way.

He had waked up early. The earliest he had ever waked up in a long time. The others were still sound asleep. He only had a few hours to prepare, to learn everything he could about the timeship, so that when the others arrived to pack up their equipment he would be ready to take action.

It felt strange going into the ship, so unlike the one Alex had come in a couple of months ago. And he couldn't help but feel guilty, but it was the right thing to do. They had been away from home for so long, they missed their time. Katie missed her family, her mother, father and brother. She deserved to be able to go back to them, so did the others to their own families. Jen….as hard as it was for him to accept, she deserved to go back to Alex. No matter how he felt about her, Alex held her heart.

Wes scanned the controls and then his eyes landed onto a compartment that read auto-pilot. "Auto pilot," Could it really be that easy? He opened up the compartment and pulled out the large book and opened and began to read it carefully, memorizing each and every word.

* * *

"Has anyone seen Wes?" asked Jen, as she and the other loaded up the last few pieces of equipment. The mutants had already been stored safely away into their compartments, so that they would be able to send them back with the time ship.

"No." Trip shook his head and even half looked around the clock tower, but saw no sign of his young friend anywhere.

"Neither have I," added Lucas who stacked other containers on top of the two he had already stacked.

"Maybe he went to see his father or Eric, let them know what's going on," announced Katie, knowing that Wes was probably still pretty shaken up. He had hardly talked to them after their conversation with Alex. They hadn't even been able to tell him that they were going to disobey Alex's order and stay with him to help protect the city.

"Maybe," answered Jen softly, as she took another scan around the main floor of the clock tower. It didn't look much like a home, but somehow over the last few months it had become a home, mainly because of Wes, mostly because of him. She wasn't sure where they would be, if he hadn't come into their lives.

"I'm sure he's okay, Jen." Lucas squeezed her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile.

Jen was slightly caught off guard, and answered shakily. "I wasn't worried…"

_Does she really think I'm that stupid? Both she and Wes have to be deaf and blind if they can't see how they really feel about each other. The others and I can see it, why can't she? _Lucas just shook his head and smiled. "Okay Jen." He turned and shot a look over to Katie and Trip, who both just shrugged their shoulders.

Together the three had watched as the affection between Wes and Jen grew each day. The eye contact, playful grins and flirting around. Every so often one taking a quick glance while the other wasn't looking. Anyone had to be blind not to see Wes and Jen were crazy about each other. Even Alex seemed to be aware of it, though he never said anything.

"Hey Circuit, why don't you go and see if you can find Wes while we finish up here," asked Trip, as he packed away his tools.

"Sure thing Trip, I'd be glad to help."

* * *

Wes worked hard at the control panel, making sure to get everything correct. The directions were fairly easy to follow; it was just a matter of making sure he put the right coordinates. He wanted to be fully sure he wasn't going to send them to the wrong time period, especially because of the fact when they first arrived here their original time ship had been destroyed.

"There you are, Wes, everyone was wondering where you were," announced Circuit as he flew in. "Hey, how do you know how that works?" Circuit might be a lot of things, but he wasn't stupid. The robotic owl turned his head and saw the book on the auto-pilot open. "Wes, wha-what's going on?"

"I'm sorry, Circuit." Wes sighed heavily.

"Sorry? Sorry for what?"

"For this," Wes quickly turned around and picked Circuit up and jabbed a screwdriver into the owl's main controls, causing Circuit to shut down. He didn't want to do it, but he couldn't risk Circuit flying away and warning the others of his plans. Besides, he knew Trip would be able to fix their owl friend. Wes gently set Circuit down on one of the chairs, so he would be out of sight from the others, at least until his plan was in action.

He turned back to the controls, double checking that everything was set correctly. The current date read November 3rd, 2001, while the destination date read November 3rd, 3000. Wes looked at his watch; the others should be here any minute from now and then it would be time… He felt the sickening feeling inside of him starting up again. The kind of feeling that just wouldn't go away. He didn't want to send them back, but he didn't want them to die either. This was the only way, there was no other choice. It had to be done. "I hope I know what I'm doing…."

"There you are!" announced Katie as she walked in, with her hands full.

"We wondered what happened to you this morning," added Lucas as he walked from behind Katie. He grinned and looked over at Jen. "Jen was worried something happened to you."

Jen's face turned a light shade of red. And she quickly looked at Wes. "No, I wasn't… I mean, I knew you probably just got an early start." Embarrassed, Jen moved ahead of Lucas and Katie to stack away the containers she had carried into their rightful compartment, but not before giving Lucas one of her looks that could kill.

"Ah yeah…" Wes ran his hand through his hair. He could already feel his heart beat against his chest. "So where's Trip?"

"I'm here," Trip stumbled in, his arms full of the remaining containers.

"Lucas! You were supposed to help Trip carry them in." Katie rushed to Trip's aid. "You know Trip can't handle all those boxes on his own!" Katie grabbed them from Trip's arms.

"Well, you know how he is always complaining that we don't let him do anything. I thought this would be a good time to start."

"Uh huh, or you just didn't want to do any more work than you had to," announced Jen.

"Hey Wes, have you seen Circuit? He left the clock tower to go look for you," asked Trip. It wasn't like Circuit to stay gone this long.

Wes was leaning against the control panel, as he slowly moved his hand down towards the card slot to start the time ship up. "Um no, I haven't. Sorry Trip…" He moved the card carefully out, never had he felt so tense in all his life. But there was no turning back now.

"You alright, Wes?" asked Katie, noticing that Wes didn't look quite like himself.

"Yeah, now that you mention it, you look tense or something," added Lucas.

"…I'm fine, just a….little bit of a cold." He pretended to cough. "It's nothing really." He watched as they all looked at him oddly. He needed to act now, before they caught on to him. "Hey, I'll go grab the other boxes of equipment for you…"

"But Wes, we already…." started Jen, but it was too late, Wes had already gone out. She just shrugged her shoulders and continued to pack things away, figuring he would figure it out sooner of later.

While the others made sure everything was packed away and in its rightful place, Trip checked out the ship. He wanted to make sure everything was intact and would be good to go, when they sent the ship back home. "Everything seems in order…" But then his eyes caught onto something blue hidden in one of the seats. He pulled the chair out and his eyes widened. "Circuit?"

Katie walked up behind Trip, her eyes widening with concern. "What happened to him?"

Trip looked his owl friend over. "It looks like someone jabbed him with something, causing his circuits to malfunction."

"But who would do..."

Lucas was putting the last mutant away, when a swishing noise caught his ear. He turned his head and watched, puzzled, as the door closed. "Hey guys, was the door supposed to close?"

"What?" Jen turned around. And indeed the door was closed. "It's probably just automatic, we just need to walk up to it and it'll open back up." But even as she stood in front of it the door would not move.

Katie rushed up to Jen, her heart racing. "Why isn't it opening?"

Jen shook her head. "I don't know!"

All eyes turned to Trip, knowing he was the only one who could tell them what was going on. Trip turned around and to his fear, he found the very reason why the door had closed behind them and wouldn't allow them to exit. He turned to them, heavy hearted, and answered. "Someone set the time ship up," he bit his lip. "We're going home…"

"_Launch will begin in sixty seconds."_

"What! But none of us set it….." And then it hit Jen, none of them had set it. She quickly rushed to the dome window of the time ship and found their young friend looking back at them. "Wes! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Jen yelled. "Let us out this instant, that's an order!"

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that." He sighed heavily. "You have to go back to your time. You'll be safe there."

"But I feel like this is my home," cried Trip.

"No, that's not possible," answered Wes, as harsh as it may have seemed. It was the truth, this wasn't their home. They didn't belong here.

"Why?" yelled Trip.

"Because this is my time, not yours." Wes gulped in heavily, knowing any second from now, they would be gone forever. "Your lives are waiting for you in the future."

"But Wes…." An instant thought came to Lucas: without them here to back up Wes their young friend would be greatly outnumbered. "You could be killed."

Until then he hadn't really thought about his own life. It had crossed his mind, but now this made it all the more clear that he really would be on his own. He eyed them all, heavy hearted, and then for some reason his eyes fell on Jen, as if he were drawn to her. "Maybe, but I won't stop fighting until I take my last breath… I promise I'll do whatever it takes to stop Ransik."

"No. I'm not leaving!" Katie pounded with all her might on the dome window, but her inhuman strength couldn't get as much as a dent. "Let me out of here!"

It felt like a knife to his heart to watch them in their agony, but not as much as the agony he felt. He looked up to the sky and watched as the vortex opened. The time hole that would send them all back home. "The vortex is opening!"

Jen ran towards the control, to attempt to cancel or override what Wes had done. "Please stop!" she cried. But it was too late, what was done was done. All her focus was gone; her mind was only focused on one thing right now. She ran back towards the others. "Wes I need to tell you something!"

"Jen, don't worry. Everything you always wanted is waiting for you in the future."

"No, Wes… I want you to know that I….." Jen's last few words were cut off as the engines started up and began to send the ship high into the sky, heading straight towards the vortex. All she could do now was watch helplessly, as she got further and further away from the man she had fallen madly in love with.

All Wes could do was watch as they disappeared into the time hole, knowing he probably never would see them again. Jen would never know how he really felt about her. Over the months of spending time together, he had fallen in love with her. He wanted to tell her the truth, but he just couldn't get the words out, partly from being afraid and the other from knowing her heart belonged to Alex.

"_Wes, where the hell are you guys! The city's being attacked. Get your lazy asses over here!"_

Wes raised his morpher up to his mouth. "I'm on my way Eric, just hang on."


	2. The Return Home

Captain Logan, along with Alex and a few of the Time Forces Medics, entered the room where Jen and the others slept comfortably. Just a little over an hour ago their time ship had arrived right on schedule. The rangers were still in hyper sleep and would remain that way for some time.

"I want a full evaluation to be done, mentally and physically," ordered Logan to the Medics team. He wanted to make sure the team was in tip top shape and hadn't brought back any diseases with them. He turned to Alex. "And Commander Drake, I would like you to oversee it,"

"Yes sir!" answered Alex sharply. His eyes then turned to where Jen was sleeping peacefully, just as she always had when she had stayed over at his apartment. He would often wake up in the middle of the night and find her sleeping close to him, resting her head on his shoulder. But now all that seemed like an eternity ago. Now everything had changed.

Logan walked around the room and came across Circuit, who was sitting close to Trip. When the time ship had arrived they had found him damaged, so Logan had ordered his team to make the repairs to the noble robot that had assisted the rangers all these months. "Circuit, it is good to have you back with us. I assume all your repairs were to your liking?"

"Yes sir, I've never felt better." The owl flapped his wings, and turned his attention back to Trip. He was eagerly waiting for his friend and the other rangers to awake, to let them know it had been Wes who had damaged him, although he assumed they would have figured that out by now. He looked back up at Captain Logan. "Captain Logan, when will the others and I return to the past to assist the red ranger?" Circuit was deeply concerned about the friend they had left behind. "Ransik and Frax weren't defeated."

Logan was caught off guard, but dismissed it with a cough and smiled. "Don't you worry about that, you just keep an eye on Trip. Let me worry about the rest." The Captain then made his way back over to Alex and the Medic team, and eyed them sharply. "I thought I made it clear that the robot was going to get his memory wiped."

"Sorry sir, there must have been some sort of a mix up," answered one of the medics. "I'll contact the technicians."

Logan nodded his head. "Just make sure when the rangers go through memory adaptation, he gets his memory wiped as well." He looked Alex sharply in the eyes. "The last thing we need is a little bird telling stories."

"Don't worry sir, you have my word. They won't remember a _thing_ about the year 2001," Alex assured him. "Including Circuit."

"Good," Logan looked at them all one last time. "You'd better hurry; they will only be asleep for a couple more hours." In past years many officers had resisted the memory adaptation and caused all sorts of problems. Since then when an officer who had spent more than five days in a different time period returned, while they were in hyper sleep Time Force personnel would do the memory adaptation. Thankfully the rangers returned at the time they were supposed to. The medic team was already waiting for them as they arrived back home.

"By the time they wake up, it'll be done sir," answered Alex.

"I'm sure it will."

* * *

"You did what!" Eric yelled, as he grabbed Wes by the collar of his shirt and shoved him against the wall. Just moments ago, Wes had come to his aid, as an army of cyclobots had come close to ending his career as leader of the Silver Guardians. The two had then retreated and run for cover inside an ally.

"I sent them back, alright!" Wes tried to shove Eric off of him, but Eric, even in his weakened state, proved to be the stronger of the two. "Now are you going to let me go or not?"

"Not until you tell me why." Eric stared Wes right in the eyes, his dark cold stare that could send shivers down your back. "Why'd you send them back, Wes? In case you haven't noticed, the city is under attack; people are already evacuating as we speak. The city is swarming with cyclobots. Ransik and Nadera are out on a rampage and Doomtron is destroying the city. So again Wes, why the hell did you send them back?" It wasn't that he was looking for their help or anything, but deep down he knew this was _way_ too big for him, the Silver Guardians, anyone to handle on their own. They were going to need all the help they could get.

"If they stayed they were going to die, okay?" He felt Eric loosen his grip and he pushed him away. "Look, last night I got a message from myself, from the future. Telling me the others would die unless I sent them back."

"Oh I see, so you thought your friends' and your girlfriend's lives were more important than a bunch of innocent people."

"_Jen_ is not my girlfriend!" Wes lost it, and got right into Eric's face, acting in such a way that they both thought he would strike Eric in the face. But that would be a mistake he would only regret a second later. It just proved how right Eric was.

Eric crossed his arm against his chest, and answered flatly. "Yeah, then how'd you know I was talking about her? And don't look at me like that, I'm not stupid. Everyone knows you're crazy about her."

"Leave Jen out of this."

"Oh, but I can't do that, because she's the main reason we're in this situation!" yelled Eric. "A whole lot of people are going to die because of _your _selfish act." Eric shoved Wes hard in the chest. "Nice going, hero, Daddy's going to be _real_ proud!"

Already he could feel himself burn with anger. _How dare he try to turn things around and make me look like the bad guy? _When all he was doing was trying to save his friends, save the woman he loved more than anything. "Fine, I messed up, I'll admit it." Wes looked Eric hard in the face. "But I'm not sorry I did."

"Fine, but just remember that when all those people die and the city is destroyed," he pointed his finger directly at Wes, "it will be riding on your shoulders! And you're the one who's going to have to live with it."

It wasn't until then that he realized how much Eric was right. It would be his fault. He was the one that sent them back. All because he didn't want to watch them die, watch her die. But there was nothing he could do about it now, what was done was done. "Are you done here? Because we're the only hope this city has right now and it's not going to get saved with you lecturing me."

"Well, at least we agree on one thing." He poked Wes hard in the chest. "But from here on out I make the calls, got it?"

"Fine with me."

"Good. Let's go."

* * *

Jen, Trip, Lucas and Katie all sat quietly in the room as the doctors left. All of them appeared disorientated and unsure of their surroundings or why they were there. Alex entered the room and eyed them all. He took a deep breath and whispered softly. "Here goes nothing…" He stepped in front of them. "I'm sure you all have a lot of questions and in time I will do my best to answer them. But for now, you are on paid leave from Time Force for the next few weeks. During that time I want you all to take it easy."

The four looked at each other, slightly confused and unsure of what to think. But they decided it best not to question Alex, after all he was their commanding officer. And the fact that they all felt tired and uneasy made them the all more ready to head home to their apartments and get some rest.

Alex led Jen to her apartment, during that time neither one had spoken a word to the other. "Here, let me get the door." Alex took her keys and unlocked the door for her and helped her inside.

Jen looked around for a moment, moving around slowly. She sighed heavily and turned to face Alex. "Why?"

"Why what?" he answered, already knowing.

"Don't play games with me, Alex. I've been with Time Force long enough to know protocol. The others don't remember where we've been all this time. What we have done." She looked him right in the eyes. "Why do I?"

He knew it wouldn't be long before she realized what had happened. He had only given her a small dosage to make her appear disorientated like the others. Alex sighed heavily and pulled the photo out of his pocket and handed it to her. It was a photo of Wes kissing her on the cheek.

"I found it in your pocket, shortly after you and the others returned from the year 2001."

Jen stared at the photo, feeling lost in the moment. It brought back so many memories, both good and bad… She sighed heavily and took a deep breath to hold back her tears. It hurt just to think about him, think about what had happened to him. "This is why you didn't have me go through memory adaptation, like the others?" There had to be more of a reason than just a simple photograph for Alex not to have put her through memory adaptation like the others.

Alex was silent for a moment. He had thought about this conversation a lot, ever since he had gotten back from the past all those months ago. He had hoped it would never come to this, but things hadn't worked out as he had hoped they would. He took her hand, gently rubbing it, hoping to see that look in her eyes again. The one he had seen the day he had asked her to marry him, but now he could see everything had changed, everything was different now. She no longer looked at him the way she once had. "Look Jen, we both know that you don't love me any more." He licked his lips. "At least not in the way you used to."

"Alex, no I do…." But she couldn't get the words out, as much as she wanted to deny it. She didn't love him, not as she had the day he had proposed to her. The time apart and everything that had happened had drifted them away from each other. Now her heart belonged to someone else, someone a thousand years in the past.

"You love Wes, Jen," It was heart wrenching for him having to accept that his double had taken his place in Jen's heart. He didn't want it to be true. It was supposed to be him and Jen, forever, as they used to say. But the look in Jen's eyes, the sound of her voice, said it all. "It's as simple as that." He gently raised his hand to brush away a falling tear from her eye. "That's why I couldn't let you go through memory adaptation, lose your memories. I couldn't marry you knowing that you didn't love me. It wouldn't be fair to either of us."

"I never meant to hurt you, Alex." Tears filled her eyes, knowing this probably hurt him more than she could ever imagine. Alex had always been there for her whenever she needed him. She had told him it would be them together forever on so many occasions. Now forever would never come, that dream they both had so long ago had come to an end. "And I want you to know that nothing ever happened between Wes and me. He never even knew…." And then she couldn't hold it back any longer. She had left Wes behind, with him never knowing the truth, never knowing how much she cared for him, how much he meant to her, and how much she loved him.

Alex wrapped his arms around her, as Jen sobbed heavily on his shoulder. It was hard, being there for her, and not being able to be there the way he wanted. Sure, he could have put her through memory adaptation and she would have forgotten she had ever met Wes, ever fallen in love with him, but he wouldn't have been able to live with himself. He would always know the truth. Wes's ghost would always be there, hidden in the shadows. He would never be able to live with himself if he put her through that.

He had only been in the past a couple of days. He hadn't been there long enough to feel accustomed to the time period. Memory adaptation didn't apply to him. "I'm sorry Jen. I'm so sorry." And he knew it would only get harder. She would want to know what had happened to Wes. And sooner or later, he was going to have to tell her. No matter how hard it would be…

* * *

Mr. Collins sat close to Eric's bedside in the hospital room where he was resting. He had just gotten out of surgery. The doctor had told him things had gone fine, and in a few months Eric would be back to his old self.

The room was silent; he had turned the TV off right after he had heard about the Q-Rex self-destructing to take out Doomtron. It had worked, but after the explosion no one had seen or heard from Wes. Shortly after the explosion, Silver Guardians had rushed to the scene, which was swarming with cyclobots, but that was hours ago. He was starting to worry; Wes should have contacted him by now to let him know he was all right. He heard footsteps, his heart skipped a beat. Could it…. "Wes…" He turned his head, but only to find two badly beaten Silver Guardians, their faces grim, and in one of their hands the red ranger morpher, stained in blood.

"I'm sorry, sir." He placed it into Collins' hands. "It was all we could find. The explosion took out a lot of the surrounding area, a lot of rubble, Ransik and cyclobots all over the place." He sighed heavily. "We think that he……" He couldn't even bring the words out, it was far too painful.

Collins stared at Wes's morpher; it was damaged and stained in blood. Wes's blood…. He felt tears run down his cheek. "Wes…"


	3. The New Mission

_04/03/3001_

Six months had passed, but it didn't seem possible that amount of time had gone by. It felt just like yesterday, when Wes had sent them back. She could still hear his voice, how brave he sounded with what was ahead of him, still see his face… Jen felt a tear slip down her cheek.

_Stop it Jen, that was a long time ago. _She quickly wiped it away and continued to punch away at the punching bag. Breaking down in tears about it again wouldn't get her anywhere. She had shed enough tears over his death. It was time to move on….at least that's what she kept on telling herself.

It had been a little over a week since she was promoted to Lieutenant. She hardly saw the others anymore. It was as if they had become strangers now, just passing each other down the hall, quick glances and waves in the lunch hall. But the truth was she couldn't stand being around them, it was too difficult. She had all these memories of the months they had spent together, but no one to share them with. They didn't remember ever going into the past; they didn't remember battling against Ransik and meeting Wes. Nothing. It never happened for them; as far as they were concerned Wes never existed.

Some days she wished Alex hadn't done what he had done and her memories had been erased. At least then maybe it would make things easier for her. She wouldn't have all these memories that only seemed to be holding her back from ever being able to move on with her life.

_Wes…Why'd you send us back? Why'd you have to face Ransik alone...? _Angry, Jen continued to punch and jab at the bag with fierce and powerful strength, filled with rage. No one knew who or what Jen was thinking of when she was pounding against the punching bag, all but one…

Alex knew the truth, ever since he had told Jen what had happened to Wes. She had become filled with this rage and anger and could snap at any moment without warning. It had been hard telling her. She had cried for days and then one day she had come in to work and that's when everything had changed. He had tried talking to her, but everything would get turned around and they would start arguing, which eventually led to them no longer being partners in Time Force. Jen had put a request in to Captain Logan, asking that she no longer be partnered with Alex, or anyone for that matter. She had slowly drawn herself away for Katie and the others. And spent most of her time training and catching criminals alone.

He never would admit it, but it had hurt, more than he wanted to admit. He knew he would never have the relationship he once had with Jen, but he had never thought that it would come to the ending of a friendship.

"Jen…" Alex announced as he stepped into the training room. He was getting ready to head on home when he had passed by and saw Jen working out. It was after hours, everyone was either home or on night duty.

"What do you want, Alex?" she answered harshly.

"It's late. You should go home and get some sleep."

"I don't need sleep." Jen continued to punch the bag hard, hoping Alex would take the hint and just leave her alone.

"Yes you do, Jen!" He had had about enough of Jen's attitude, because he knew sooner or later what she was doing would kill her. And that scared him more than anything. "You've been working nonstop ever since I told you about Wes. If I knew this was going to happen I wouldn't have told you."

"How dare you!" she snapped, and turned to him. "How dare you bring him into this!" Already she could feel herself breaking apart, as much as she wanted to deny it. She wasn't over his death. She held her tears back. "After what he did for us!"

"Jen, look at yourself, look what you're doing to yourself. If you keep this up, you'll end up dead." He looked her hard in the eyes, he had to, he _needed_ to get through to her. He might have lost her as his future wife, but he wasn't about to lose her as a friend. "Is that what you want? To throw your life away for some guy who died a thousand years ago?" He knew he was being harsh, but he couldn't just stand back and watch as Jen threw her life away.

"Maybe I want to!" She didn't mean it, but that's what she felt, as much as she tried to hide it, something was missing. And as much as she tried she couldn't forget about the man she had fallen in love with and left behind, to defend the city and end up dying because of it.

Alex just shook his head. "Jen, I don't know what you want me to say, or what I'm supposed to do." He was at a loss. He had thought it was for the better, he had let Jen keep her memories, but now it only seemed to be causing more problems than before.

"Don't say anything. Just let me live my life the way I want to. I don't need your help anymore." She walked past him, brushing against his shoulder. "I can get by just fine on my own."

Alex sighed heavily, and watched her go. It seemed impossible that just a little over a year ago they had been so in love, engaged, a happy future ahead of them and now….. Everything was changing right before his eyes, and there wasn't a thing in the world he could do to strop it. _What have I done? _Angry with himself, he jabbed at the punching bag with fierce force, causing it to swing back and forth several times, until it slowed to a stop. "Dammit!"

* * *

_Three months later…_

Alex sat on the bench in front of his locker, changing into his uniform after a long workout training with new cadets. It had become a regular routine for him, day in and day out. Jen and he had hardly spoken to each other, just a few words and nods every so often when they passed each other in the hall. It seemed the more time that passed, the more distant they became.

"Hey, did you hear about the breakout last night?" said Officer Michaels as he and Officer Hunns walked into the locker room.

"Yeah. Guess it was pretty bad. I heard Benton got hit real good, didn't stand a chance. And Markens is still listed in critical condition." Hunns grabbed a towel from the bench and wiped the sweat off of his face. "They have teams all over the place searching for those three, but it looks like they're long gone."

"Yeah, I heard from some of the guys that one of the time devices from the lab went missing."

"Great, just what we need, level ten mutants traveling through time." He took off his sweaty shirt. "Well, that may explain why I saw Scotts head into the Captain's office just before we came in here. Scott's must be…."

"You don't mean Lt. Jennifer Scotts…" Alex had been half listening in on their conversation while getting ready; most of it was old news. He had been one of the first to learn of the breakout, but when they starting talking about Scotts he could only wonder.

"Um yeah," answered Hunns, looking right at Alex, and then something just clicked inside his head. "Hey, yeah you were engaged to Lt. Scotts, almost a year ago." It had been no secret, everyone had known the two were engaged, and had been seeing each other for quite some time, but the thing that didn't seem to make any sense to anyone was why it had gotten broken off. There was a slight age difference, but not anything big enough for anyone to have any problems with. "What ever happened between you two?"

"I got to go." Alex grabbed his harness and left the locker room as quickly as his feet could carry him.

"I heard when he was in that coma, she left him and went flaunting off with some other guy. She didn't even visit him in the hospital."

"I can hardly see Lt. Scotts flaunting anything." Hunns stood up and started towards the showers. "But now that you mention it - Lt. Scotts, along with Walker and her crew, were MIA the whole time Drake was in the coma, and even after he had waked up."

"You're right. Huh, I wonder where they all were?"

* * *

"I know you are highly qualified, but I'm not sure if you understand the risks," stated Captain Logan. "This mission is very dangerous, Jen. These three mut-orgs are unlike anything you have faced before."

"I'm well aware of the risks, captain," announced Jen. "But this is something I want to do. Have to do." A big part of her felt guilty that she and the others had left Ransik behind. She wanted to make up for it, although she could never let Captain Logan in on why she had to do this. As far as he knew, she remembered nothing about her time in the year 2001 or the man she had befriended.

Logan smiled. "You're a hard officer to say no to, Jen." He gripped her shoulder. "I'll make the arrangements, meet back with me in four hours and I'll have all the equipment you'll need."

Jen saluted him. "Yes sir." She started towards the door, but stopped for a moment and looked over her shoulder. "And thank you."

She looked around her apartment one last time and for a moment she even thought it might be for the last time. Her apartment was so quiet and empty, which was silly. It was anything but empty; there was a comfy couch, a few chairs, a coffee table, even a flat screen TV. But she would give up this comforting apartment just to be back in the clock tower, which was anything but comfy.

"Jen!" Alex had seen her walking down the hall, heading towards Logan's office. "Wait up!"

"I don't have time for this, Alex. Captain Logan is waiting for me." She kept on going. She didn't want to deal with Alex now. It wasn't that she didn't respect his opinions or that she was angry with him. The last few months had been hard on both of them, having to break off their engagement, needing to come up for a reason why they had broken up. And then her talk with him about Wes, everything seemed to just go downhill after that.

It had been tiring for both of them, but it was something that needed to be done. And now, after everything they had been through, it just hurt too much to be around him. Every time she looked into his eyes, she would see Wes. It came to the point that being around him only reminded her that Wes was gone and he wasn't coming back.

"Jen!" Alex caught up with her and grabbed her arm. "Just wait, please."

Jen sighed heavily. He meant well, but he could never truly understand just what she had been going through. No one would ever understand. "Alex, I know what you're going to say and there is nothing you can say to talk me out of this." She looked him straight in the eyes. "I'm going to track down those fugitives and bring them in, whether you like it or not."

"You don't know what you're getting yourself into, Jennifer. These aren't just any ordinary fugitives, they have killed hundreds of people and they won't hesitate for a second to take you out."

"And so has Ransik, but you didn't seem to have a problem sending me after him!" She yanked her arm out of Alex's grip and stormed off.

Alex sighed heavily, he had known that one day that would come back to haunt him. After he had waked up out of his coma, he hated himself for weeks for sending her after Ransik. "But I wonder what Wes would say? You did say he was responsible for sending you and the others back, so obviously he didn't want anything to happen to you."

Jen looked over her shoulder. "Like you said, Wes is gone. It doesn't matter what he thinks of what I do with my life." And with those last words Jen took off down the hall around the corner towards Captain Logan's office.

* * *

"Guys, I need your help," announced Alex. After things hadn't gone well with Jen, he had rushed down to the lounge where the others were enjoying their lunch break. He had only under an hour to convince them to help him stop Jen from leaving on the mission. A mission he feared that she wouldn't return from.

"If this is about stopping Jen from going on her assignment," Katie turned and smiled faintly at Alex, "then I'm sorry, Alex, but the answer is no."

"What?" Alex couldn't believe it. Had they all gone mad? "You can't be serious. You know there's a fifty percent chance she won't make it back."

"Jen's a good officer, she'll be fine," added Katie.

"I can't believe I'm hearing this." He just stared at all of them in disbelief. "Don't you guys remember…." And then he stopped himself. _They don't remember._ They didn't remember how Jen had gone after both Ransik and Steelix on her own, nearly getting herself killed in the process.

Lucas jumped to his feet and looked Alex hard in the eyes, as if some rage or aggression just shot right through him. He wasn't sure where it had come from or why he was feeling this way. "The only thing I remember is how you broke Jen's heart, breaking off your engagement." Lucas was face to face with Alex, staring him right in the eyes. "She was a mess for weeks, because of you."

"Lucas…" Trip started in.

"No Trip, Alex has to listen to this." Lucas looked back at Alex. "Just leave her alone, Alex, you've done enough."

Alex sighed heavily. Although some parts of the story weren't true, Lucas was right. He had done enough. He had done all he could, and there was no trying to explain himself, or what had really gone on. They didn't remember and that's the way it had to remain. If Time Force ever found out that Jen hadn't gone through memory adaptation his job and Jen's would be on the line. "You're right." Alex licked his lips and backed away. "You're absolutely right." He turned around and walked away.

Trip watched him go and for a moment he felt like going after him, as if something came over him, but he couldn't explain it and then a second later it was gone and forgotten.


	4. Three Strangers

Alex was checking the daily logs, scanning down the list of the status of each officer. Everything seemed to be in order, but as he neared the bottom and saw the list of officers MIA, his heart skipped a beat. "Jen…" How could this be? Jen is normally good a making regular routine status reports.

Fearing the worst, he sat down in front of the computer and quickly put her through the system. Her profile quickly popped up and he clicked the link for status off mission, again it set her listed as MIA. And below it, gave a time of last known whereabouts. It was three weeks today since anyone had last heard from her. How he hadn't known about it up until now he didn't know. It's typical not to hear from an officer gone on a mission for weeks, but once three weeks roll around they are placed MIA.

Alex let out a heavy sigh; he felt responsible in some way, but he knew even he was not responsible for the choices that Jen made. She was always so stubborn, didn't care what anyone else thought, she just went right ahead with her own plan.

"I knew it would be too dangerous."

* * *

"Sir." A Time Force officer saluted Captain Logan as he walked into his office.

"At ease, Officer Bains." Logan put aside the folder he had been viewing. He crossed his fingers together. "Now what is it that you needed to see me about?"

"I was checking the logs of this past year. I came across this….." He handed Logan the file. "It didn't appear accurate, Captain, something seemed off to me. Lt. Scotts and her team were the last officers to go through memory adaptation, correct?"

Logan was stunned, but didn't dare show it. He looked up at the officer and smiled. "Yes, they were. I will look into it, thank you for bringing this to my attention."

"You're welcome, sir." Officer Bains still remained at his post, as if he were waiting for Captain Logan to explain what he had found.

"Is there something else you needed, Officer Bains?'

"No, sir." He smiled. "This was it." Taking that as a hint that it was time for him to leave, Bains started backing away towards the door. "I'll just leave you to your work, sir."

Bains was too distracted to see Commander Alex Drake coming. He backed right into him. Startled and heart racing, he quickly apologized. But Alex seemed distracted as well, and moved right in front of Bains. The young officer quickly took his leave.

"Captain…"

"Yes, I got the call, just a few minutes ago."

"Then you know." Alex took his seat in front of Logan's desk. "What are we going to do? We should send in a rescue team immediately…. Sh-she could be hurt, in trouble…. Jen needs….." He was so concerned about Jen's safety that he couldn't think straight, all that mattered was whether Jen was okay.

"Right now I'm more concerned about this." Logan looked at Alex hard, as he showed him the file that Officer Bains had brought to his attention. "And perhaps this explains why Lt. Scotts has dropped off the radar."

Alex felt his heart sink as he read through the file. A file he had thought he had gotten rid of. Right in bold it said it all: Lt. Jennifer Scotts, memory adaptation incomplete. "Sir, I can explain…"

"Explain what? Dammit, Alex!" Logan banged his fist onto his desk. "Do you have any idea what you have done? I should have both you and Scotts thrown in time prison for this and relieve you of all Time Force ranks." He was furious, to say the least. "Never in all my years could I predict this coming from you."

"Do what you want with me, sir. But leave Jen out of this. She had nothing to do with it." Alex looked Logan straight in the eye. He wasn't about to let Jen go down in anything she didn't have a say in. "I acted alone."

"I find that hard to believe. You are one of the top officers here. I would never have expected to see the day you break the rules," he replied in a harsh tone. He sighed heavily, he was angry and disappointed, but right now he would have to put that aside, there were other matters to deal with. "But we will deal with this issue later, for now we concentrate on locating Lt. Scotts and bringing three mutorgs in."

"Yes, sir."

"And Commander Drake, for your sake, you better hope that Lt. Scotts is not tampering with history. Is that understood?"

"Perfectly."

"Good. That will be all."

Alex stood up, saluted, and walked out, having more problems than when he walked in. Once outside, he leaned his back against the wall, sighing heavily. "Where are you, Jen?'

* * *

She was standing in an open field searching the perimeter, but no one was around. In fact, nothing was really around her, just a dirt field and the wide open sky. She was alone, not that it bothered her. It had been weeks since she had made any contact with anyone. Not that she could, her computer for communicating with the others back home had been damaged during one of her attempts to arrest the mutorgs.

"Where are they headed?" Jen asked, as she spoke into the small tracking device. During one of her attempts, she was lucky enough to place a small tracker on one of them and had been following them ever since. The screen continued to flash SCANNING…….. Then it flashed July 20th, 2002. For a moment Jen just glared at the screen and felt a sharp pain in her heart.

She would be going back to the past a little more than eight months since she and the others had been in the 21st century. It would be eight months since _he_ was killed. "Wes…" She found herself whispering his name and for a moment she even considered going further back in time. It was almost too tempting. She had the time travel device in her hand. It would be so easy. She could go back, warn herself about what Wes was doing, or stop him somehow, or do a million other things to save him from his doom.

With just one single push of a button, she'd have all the time in the world. But as much as she wanted to, she couldn't…. Right now she needed to concentrate in bringing in the mutorgs, at least that is what Wes would have wanted her to do…..

"You can run, but you can't hide. I will catch all three of you. One way or another." Jen was very determined to accomplish her mission, although part of her wondered if she was just looking for a death wish. In a bright flash of light Jen disappeared….

* * *

Eric looked out the window of the passenger seat of a Silver Guardian truck, watching as they passed by buildings, trees, and people walking down the busy streets. It had been eight months; nearly a year now had passed. He had thought with time the memory would fade away, but it was still with him every day. Every time he opened his eyes in the morning and every time he closed them at night. Not that he had gotten much sleep these last months.

There was no time for sleep. Silver Hills had been taken over, parts of it destroyed. He had gotten out, thanks to Mr. Collins. The two were safely in Turtle Cove, along with many of the Silver Guardians, and other Silver Hills citizens. But not everyone had made it…… Eric heavily sighed, he and Wes were never the best of friends, but Wes had been the only _real_ friend he had ever had and now he was gone...

It had been hard on Collins, learning of his son's death and feeling partly responsible. The last time they had seen Wes alive was when they were attacked by Cyclobots, one coming close to killing him, as he protected both Wes and Collins from the blaster fire. He had been injured and was unable to continue on in the fight with Wes. Both he and Collins had given their blessings for Wes to carrying on, on his own. ….They just never thought that would be the last time they would ever see him.

"Commander Myers, should I go talk to the driver or do you want to?" asked Mace, as he put the truck in park.

"Huh?" Eric turned his head. He shook his head and snapped back to reality. He was more out of it than usual. Just moments ago they had turned on their sirens to alert a driver who had been speeding to pull their car over. "No, I'll handle it." He unbuckled his belt and started to get out.

"Are you sure sir, you don't-"

"I'm fine." He shut the door behind him. He was starting to get tired of everyone treating him like he was made of glass. It had been months since he recovered from his injuries. He was fine. There was nothing wrong with him. Or that's what he told himself. Eric made his way towards the yellow sports car, to go talk to the driver.

"I'm sorry Officer, I….." Taylor looked out her window and she was shocked to see the officer standing before her. It was Eric Myers, the Quantum Ranger. "You're Eric Myers, you're the Quantum Ranger, from Silver Hills."

"Uh huh. Can I see your license and registration?" It hadn't taken long for the citizens of Turtle Cove to come to know who he was. He had made a name for himself in Silver Hills, and with the evacuation and everything, it had been all over the news.

"Yeah, sure." Taylor handed him her license and pulled out her registration. She watched as Eric looked it over. It was no secret why the Silver Guardians were here or why Turtle Cove had become populated with citizens of Silver Hills. She knew all about what had happened, everyone did. She had even considered going to Silver Hills when the attacks started, but she had her own problems here to handle. "I was sorry to hear about your-"

All too quickly Eric wrote her up a ticket and handed it back with her license and registration. "Drive more carefully, ma'am." Before she could respond he walked away. He didn't need to be reminded about what happened, or who he had lost…

"So, you give her a ticket?" asked Mace, as he watched Eric get back into the truck.

"Yeah, I could just tell she was trouble," Eric answered as he buckled up.

"That's the eighth ticket you've given this week. And every one of them, you said, was trouble." It was starting to become a pattern, every driver they had pulled over in the last two months, to every one of them Eric had issued a ticket.

It was starting to get to the point where Mace wondered if Eric cared anymore, about anything. He just handed out the tickets like they didn't even matter and it didn't seem to have anything to do with what the driver had done wrong.

"You got a problem with my tactics, officer?" Eric remarked sharply, his eyes glaring darkly at his partner.

"No sir." Mace sighed heavily. "You just seem to…. Never mind." He decided it probably was best to leave it well enough alone. If there was one thing he knew about Eric Myers, it was better to just let it go when he was in one of his moods. Which as of lately, was pretty much all the time.

**The next day…**

Mace and Eric were out on their daily routine route when an urgent alert came over their radio. "All Silver Guardians and Cove Police, report to Cranston Plaza."

Eric grabbed the radio and nodded to Mace, who turned down the next block, sirens on, and headed towards Cranston Plaza. "Copy that, we're on our way." Within moments they had arrived at the scene. Eric's face turned white as a ghost and he could swear he felt his heart skip a beat. What he saw scared the living hell out of him: three mutants. "Oh no. They found us."

"We all knew it was only a matter of time."

Eric opened his door. "Yeah. Well, I'm not going to let those freaks destroy this city like they destroyed Silver Hills!" His face was determined. He could not stand to see another city fall, this was the last straw.

Eric led the Guardians in, some ducking behind their cars or corners of the buildings around the plaza. Once all squads were at their posts, Eric stepped forward, gun in hand pointing straight at the three mutants. "Surrender now, or we will be forced to shoot!" Although Eric doubted these three would come quietly.

The mutorgs glared at one another and stared back at the Commander, as if mocking him. They snarled, but it sounded more like a taunting laugh, and no sooner than that, they fired back at the Commander and his Guardians.

Eric dropped to the ground to quickly dodge the blast; it went over him and hit two of his squad members. "Open fire!" Eric yelled, as he rolled over and sought cover behind one of the stone statues. An exchange of fire blasts began, but the Guardians soon learned their firepower was no match for these three mutants. It seemed as if these three were far different from any of the mutants they had faced before.

Eric watched as his team got beaten and shot at. He took a deep breath and clenched his fists tightly together. "That does it!" He put his weapon back on its harness. "Prepare to meet your maker!" Eric roared as he charged at the three. The three then began to fire at him, but missed every time.

The three mutants then realized this man was different from the others. They nodded to one another and combined their hands together, a powerful glow surrounded their hands, and they fired right at Eric, hitting him head on.

"COMMANDER MYERS!" shouted several of the Guardians, as they watched as their commander dropped to the ground, barely moving. Some of them tried to run towards him, but the mutants blasted shots back right at them, preventing them from going to their commander's aid.

Eric tried to get up, but the leader of the mutant trio pressed its foot hard on Eric's shoulder, where he had been hit. He winced in pain, as the mutant applied pressure to his wound. Eric gritted his teeth, he reached for his blaster. "Go to hell!" He was about to shoot, but the mutant leader was ready for him and whacked the blaster out of his hands.

Again the leader pressed his foot against Eric's wound, and took pleasure out of watching him suffer. Eric gasped for air, everything started getting darker around him, but he kept his eyes locked on the mutant on top of him. "Hasn't Ransik done enough? What more do you want from us?"

The mutant paused for a moment, staring down at Eric, and his distraction gave enough time for the Wild Force Rangers to come to the Silver Guardians' aid. Eric was vaguely aware of a voice shouting out, "Falcon summoner!" The blast hit the leader head on, making him fall back towards his two comrades.

"And we have more than that!" yelled the yellow ranger.

The three mutants looked to one another. It was time for them to depart, before the Wild Force rangers could make another attempt, the mutants had disappeared away.

"Come on guys, let's help them up," announced the red ranger, as he rushed to the fallen Silver Guardian's aid, along with his teammates.

The yellow ranger made her way over to Eric, who appeared to be in bad shape. "Looks like you took a nasty hit there." She held out her hand.

Eric shoved the gesture away, and got up on his own, wincing painfully. He applied pressure to his wound, which was bleeding intensely. "What took you guys so long anyways?" He looked around and watched as the other rangers helped his Guardians up, and rushed those who needed medical attention to the ambulances which had just started pulling into the plaza.

"Sorry, but I guess we were afraid of getting another speeding ticket," she responded cockily and crossed her arms against her chest. She and her team had just saved his ass, and all he could say was '_What too you guys so long.'_

"Excuse me?"

"Here, maybe this will help your remember." She powered down. "You remember me now, Commander Myers? Or are you too pigheaded to remember you gave me a ticket yesterday?"

"_You_." Eric smirked. "You're a power ranger. You got to be kidding me. I guess they let anyone be a ranger these days."

"What's your problem? We helped you out, the least you can do is say thanks."

"Thanks, but no thanks." He looked her daringly in the eyes. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to attend to my men, and report damages." He turned away and started towards the vehicles.

"Why you selfish, undeserving basta-"

He stopped and turned around. "Watch it, or I'll give you another ticket."

Taylor just clenched her fists as she watched him walk away. Never had one man made her so angry. "Who does he think he is? Big shot Silver Guardian Commander."

"What was all that about?" asked the blue ranger, as he and the others gathered around Taylor, wondering why she had demorphed. "You know him or something?"

"Unfortunately, yes. He's the asshole that gave me a ticket yesterday." Taylor watched as the medical team attended to Eric's wound. "Come on, let's get out of here."

Max laughed. "Wait, you mean to tell me Eric Myers, the Quantum Ranger, gave you a ticket?"

"It's not funny, Max!" Taylor slugged him.

"You're right. It's hilarious."

* * *

Night had fallen and the three Mutorgs, who called themselves Rofang, Kired and the leader Takach, stood tall on top of a building overlooking Turtle Cove. They snarled at one another, talking in the tongue from ancient times, a language long lost and forgotten.

Unbeknownst to them, they were not alone on top of the building. A dark caped figure was listening to their every word. The language decoder device made it easy to comprehend.

"Takach, we find the master soon, right. Then we pollute Earth, create more orgs."

"No."

Rofang and Kired looked at each other; that had been the plan ever since they had left the year 3001, to come here to the twenty-first century and meet up with the master org. "But, I thought that-"

"Change of plans. You heard what he said." He watched as his two comrades exchanged a glance with each other. "I think it's time we pay our old friend Ransik a visit. You do remember him, don't you?"

"Yes, of course. He was the one that freed us from that stone prison, all those years ago," answered Rofang.

"_Ransik?_ I should have known he had something to do with this," Jen snarled, as she backed away into the shadows, with the cape covering her face.


	5. Aggression of Anger

"Maybe they could be of help to us," Mr. Collins announced, breaking the long silence between him and Eric at the hospital. The wound had been more serious then they had thought, and he needed to have stitches. Collins had come straight to Turtle Cove hospital right after he had heard about the fight with three new mysterious creatures. Ever since Wes's death, he found himself spending more and more time with Eric. He wasn't trying to replace Wes. He never could replace the son he had lost, but spending time with Eric, being there for him when he was hurt, helped ease the pain.

"No, I don't think so," Eric answered coldly. "We don't need them. The Guardians and I can handle these creeps, and Ransik, just fine."

"Eric, be reasonable, we both know the Guardians' weapon can't match the firepower of Ransik and these three new mutants." He gripped Eric's shoulder. "And you…"

"What about me!" Eric shoved his arm away. "Look, I can handle it." He jumped off and start towards the door.

"Ah, Mr. Myers, just got your results back, you should take it easy for the next few weeks..."

"Yeah, whatever." Eric brushed against the doctor's shoulder and walked out of the room.

"Doesn't take 'taking it easy' well."

Mr. Collins smiled. "You don't know the half of it." He got up and signed the needed papers. "Thank you, Doctor."

* * *

"I can't believe the nerve of that guy," snarled Taylor as she plumped down on the picnic table, surrounded by her teammates Cole, Max, Danny, Alyssa, and their mentor Princess Shayla. They had just arrived back from helping Eric and the Guardians with the three orgs.

"I still can't believe it, you met another power ranger!" Princess Shayla's face just glowed as if she was mesmerized. "I have heard others existed. I just never thought I would ever come face to face with one."

"Good luck," Taylor humphed. "I don't think we'll be seeing him again any time soon. He made it perfectly clear he didn't want any help from us."

"Are you sure your resentment towards him has nothing to do with him giving you a speeding ticket?" snickered Max, who had known Taylor to be a bit of a speed demon, and sooner or later he knew someone would catch her, he just found it hilarious that that someone turned out to be Eric Myers.

"Stop it Max, it's not funny!"

"Actually it is pretty funny, if you think about it," grinned Danny, joining in with Max, but then he saw Taylor giving one of those looks. The deadliest of all stares, the kind that sent shivers down your back. Danny grabbed a hold of Max's shoulder. "Okay….. We were just kidding, Taylor, really."

"Yeah, no hard feelings." The two started to back away, but the stare didn't go away. Max pretended to look at his watch. "Well look at the time, we better go, Danny, if we're going to catch that movie."

'Movie? What movie-" Max jabbed him in the gut. "Oh yeah, that movie." He smiled and waved goodbye. "Later, guys." The two took off running and didn't turn back. They were too afraid to look, to see if Taylor was chasing after them.

After the commotion of excitement from Max and Danny, Alyssa turned to Princess Shayla, her face serious and concerned. "Princess Shayla, those three orgs, they were different from the others we have fought in the past."

"Yes, I know." Her face was no longer happy. "I have never seen anything like them, not even the higher power of orgs I have encountered share any resemblance of the power they held." Though she wouldn't say it, she wasn't so sure her rangers alone could defeat them.

"Then we need to get his help. Eric Myers' help," announced Cole.

"Yeah. Like that will happen, he's a complete-"

"He's lonely." Cole interrupted Taylor and sighed slightly. "And angry with himself for what happened to his friend."

"So we'll go find him and ask him for his help," added Alyssa, agreeing with Cole.

Taylor couldn't believe what she was hearing. Were they not there when he basically had blown her off? "I can't believe this! We don't need him-"

"I'm afraid we may need all the help we can get, Taylor," announced Princess Shayla, her face becoming very serious and alert. She knew even with Merrick's help, that it still wouldn't be enough. Her senses told her these three org's might even possess more power than even Master Org.

* * *

It was late out. Jen stood outside a C.O. owned building of Bio-Lab, a smaller branch that was stationed here in Turtle Cove. According to the newspapers she had read in the library, Silver Hills had fallen, it had been deserted and everyone either came here, or went elsewhere. This was where Mr. Collins' office was now, this is where he worked. He even had a home here, a slightly smaller home than the one he had back in Silver Hills. She had even passed it and even half hoped to find Wes there, alive and well, but…. Wes wasn't here. He had died, defending the city, and it seemed his sacrifice had been unjust.

Her eyes fell onto the memorial that Mr. Collins had placed in memory of his son. She couldn't imagine what it must be like for him, though Wes and his father had had their differences, she knew both of them had loved each other very much. She felt a tear roll down her cheek. She had sworn to herself she wouldn't cry again over his death, but she couldn't help it. She loved him so much and he had died, never knowing the truth.

"Take it easy, Myers." Mace patted Eric on the back as he passed him by, heading towards the parking lot; he didn't even notice Jen standing by the memorial.

"Night, Mace." Eric headed down the sidewalk, not even looking where he was going, and bumped right into Jen. "Sorry, wasn't looking where I was going."

"Don't worry about it." Jen kept her head down and kept on moving. The last thing she needed was to let Eric know she was here.

Eric kept walking in the opposite direction of the woman he had bumped into, but then came to a complete stop. That voice. He _knew _that voice. He turned around and walked promptly over to her and grabbed her by the shoulder, forcing her to turn around, as he stared her down hard. "Hello, Jen, you have a lot of explaining to do."

He had taken her to Mr. Collins' office and had locked the door behind him. It was the only safe and secure enough room for them to talk, thankfully Mr. Collins had already gone home for the night. He didn't need to know about this.

Minutes seem to pass without a word, as Jen sat in a chair, her heart racing fast, as she watched Eric walk back and forth, his face steaming with anger. She mentally hit herself, she knew she shouldn't have gone to the memorial, but she couldn't help it. She had to see it, she needed, she wanted to say goodbye.

"You have some nerve coming back here after all these months," Eric roared into her face.

"I'm here tracking those three mutorgs. I've been after them the last few weeks."

"Oh, I see." They both knew he was not happy one bit to see her here, after everything that had happened. "So you came back here, to clean up one of your messes. Maybe you should have started with your last mess?"

Jen didn't answer, just bowed her head down.

"We had to leave Silver Hills, because it was too dangerous for us to stay. The city fell, Jen, people were killed." He clenched his fists together; he was angry for what happened, he was angry at her, even more angry than he had ever thought he was. "Don't you even care?"

"Of course I care!" she shouted back. "I care more than anyone, but Wes-"

"What about him? And don't give me that shit about him sending you all back, because I already know."

"He told you?"

"Yeah." He nodded his head. "He told me. The thing I don't get is why you didn't come back before now." Eric walked over to the safe; only Mr. Collins and he knew the combination. He opened it and grabbed an oval shaped object out of it and tossed it at Jen. "Because you're too damn late, Wes is dead, Jen."

It was covered in blood. Wes's morpher. Part of her had hoped that Alex was wrong and Wes had somehow survived, but this proved all too well that the man she loved more than anything was gone, gone forever. Already she could feel the tears coming on, the pain in her heart returning, that for months she had held back.

"Come on, Jen, I want to know the truth. You owe him that much." When she didn't answer he got right in her face and slammed his fist against the table. "You have a time ship, for crying out loud! You couldn't turn the damn thing back around?"

Jen took a moment to gather her words. She would not break down in front of Eric. She would hold the tears back for as long as she could. Taking a deep breath, she calmly responded. "It's not that simple…."

"The hell it isn't!"

Jen eye's lit up with fury. "You have no damn idea what you're talking about! You're not part of Time Force, you just stole the morpher and took it for your own. You have no idea the precautions they take." She sighed heavily. "We couldn't come back, after we arrived home, because while we were still in hyper sleep we had our memories erased to revert back to our own time."

"Oh really, because your memory seems just _fine_ to me," he spat back.

"That's because I didn't get my memory wiped. No one knows, that's why I couldn't come back, if I did they would know I didn't get my memory wiped, and then-"

"What, you lose your job and go to jail? That's bullshit and you know it." He just shook his head disappointedly. "I don't know what he ever saw in _you_ or the others, because you sure didn't give a damn about him. The only thing you cared about was yourself!"

She wanted to scream at him, tell him that he was wrong, but it wouldn't matter. No matter what she would say, Eric wouldn't hear it. He had already come to his own conclusions about how things went down, and a part of her knew he was right. If the Time Force officials ever found out she remembered the events of her time here, all hell would break loose and both her and Alex's futures would be on the line.

"Go back to your own time, Jen. We don't need you here anymore. I'll take care of this mess and the last one. You've done enough damage."

"But Eric-"

"Don't 'but Eric' me; get out of here before I throw you out. You make me sick! I don't know what Wes was thinking, risking his life to save yours."

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh come on, you're just as much as a fool as he was. He loved you, Jen, that's why he did what he did."

"_What?" _Jen was in total shock. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, Wes actually did love her.

"Oh, don't tell me you didn't know."

"I didn't….I mean… I thought that he might, but I honestly didn't…." And then she lost it. The tears just came running down her cheeks, and knowing she wouldn't get any compassion from Eric, she took off running and didn't look back.

Eric watched her go, a part of him told him to run after her, but he was still too angry at her. He had blamed her for Wes's death and for what had happened to Silver Hills, but he knew Wes too played a part in that. And with him gone, it was just easier taking it out on her.

* * *

**Back in the future…..**

Trip was doing a routine check over Circuit, making sure everything was in order and none of his wires needed changing. "This shouldn't take long, Circuit," announced Trip as he took off the small panel covering and began working away.

"Okay, Trip, hope everything's okay."

"I'm sure it is. Don't worry so much." Trip knew that Circuit, though a robot, was very sensitive and didn't like it when something was wrong with him. When he had first created Circuit, he wanted to make him as close to human as he could. "Everything seems to be in order." Trip was getting ready to pull his tool out and close Circuit back up, but then something caught his eye. "I didn't use that kind of wire….."

"Is something wrong, Trip?"

"Um no, you're perfectly fine, Circuit." Trip put the panel back on his owl friend.

"Good, I was afraid something was wrong with me."

Now he was curious, normally Circuit hated being checked out, but this time he had practically insisted that he be checked out. "Why would you say that?"

"I don't know. I just feel like something's wrong. Something's missing?"

"What do you feel is missing?"

"I wish I knew. I can't explain it, maybe you should check me again Trip, okay, just to make sure."

"Believe me, Circuit, if there was something wrong with you I would know about it."

"Oh, okay. You're right, Trip, you know my circuits better than anyone. I'm going to rest now, okay." Circuit closed his eyes and went to sleep.

"Okay Circuit, sleep well." Trip smiled faintly; Circuit was right about one thing. He did know his circuits better than anyone and something just didn't seem right. The wire in Circuit was different, as if someone had altered it or made some kind of changes, and one thing was for sure, these changes had not been done by him.

* * *

She ran and ran like she never had before, not watching or caring where she was headed. And when she could run no more, her legs gave way and she dropped to the ground, bawling her eyes out. Eric's words hurt her more than she thought and she couldn't help but blame herself. And what hurt her even more was to know that Wes had in fact loved her and she had loved him, but neither one knew the truth. "Oh Wes….."

"Well, what do we have here?" A dark shadow stepped up behind her.

A shiver went down her spine and her heart skipped a beat. It was the voice she had heard in her nightmares, ever since she and the others returned back to the future. She gulped in and slowly stood up and turned around. "Ransik…"

"Yes, it is I. I was surprised, to say the least, when I found out you abandoned your new-found friend." Quicker than light Ransik grabbed her by the neck, squeezing it tight. "I want you to knew he begged and begged for me to spare his life."

"You're lying; Wes would never do that…" Jen gasped.

"Well, I guess you'll never know for sure."

"Put her down, Ransik!" shouted a voice.

Both Jen and Ransik heads turned towards the dark figure heading towards them, watching as he came into the light.

Jen half hoped, even begged, that it might be Wes, but as the figure came into the light all hope was shattered. "Eric…" He must have run after her and morphed into the quantum ranger when he saw her in trouble.

"Well it it isn't the quantum ranger, come to rescue the pink ranger. I would have thought after what happened to your friend she would be the last person you would come to rescue."

"Well then, I guess you don't know me that well." He quickly drew out his blaster. "Now as I said before, put her down."

"Oh, if I must!" Ransik threw Jen against a wall and her head slammed hard against it, causing her body to drop to the ground.

"You're going to pay for that."

"Perhaps another time, ranger, I have important business to attend to…" Ransik used his transmitter and disappeared in a flash of light. "Prepare, for the worst is yet to come."

"Yeah. And next time I'll finish you for good." He quickly ran to Jen's aid and turned her over on her back. She blinked up at him slightly. "Hang in there, Jen. You're going to be okay."

"Eric, why'd you come back….." Her voice drifted into silence and darkness settled in, as she closed her eyes.

He grabbed his radio and spoke directly into it. "I'm coming back in, prepare for my arrival."

_"Copy that, Commander, we'll be waiting."_


	6. Confronting

"You again?' Eric opened the front door of the home Mr. Collins and he had been staying at. It was late morning and the last thing he expected to find was Taylor and a group of others standing at the door. The other Wild Force rangers, he assumed.

"See, I told you he wouldn't be happy to see us," announced Taylor, crossing her arms against her chest. "This is just a waste of time."

"Look." Max stepped forward. "We really could use your help in destroying these orgs."

Eric stared Max down and smirked. "And what are you, twelve?"

"I'm…I'm eighteen!"

"Right, sure you are." Eric then looked back to Taylor. "Sorry, but _I _work alone." He was getting ready to shut the door, when…

"But you don't like to." Cole moved his way in front of Max and Taylor.

"And what do you know about what I like and don't like?" Eric was getting real annoyed with the situation, after the one last night. The last thing he needed was these five pounding on the door.

"I just know." Cole sighed heavily. "We can't do this on our own; we need your help, Eric."

"Yes, please, our mentor told us it will take everything we have to defeat these three creatures," added Alyssa. "You're our only hope."

"Yeah, please help us, with the quantum ranger at our side we can do anything!" shouted Danny, almost jumping up and down.

Seconds of silence seemed to pass, as Eric stared them all down. Taylor just shook her head. "See I told you, you guys. He's worthless, just another pigheaded jerk."

"I hate to say it guys, but I think Taylor is right. He's just a coward." Max just shook his head disappointedly. "Come on, let's get out of here." Max turned around and started to head back down the stairs.

"Now hold on one minute." Eric grabbed Max by the shoulder. "I may be a lot of things, but I am not a coward."

"So you'll help us then?" asked Alyssa.

"Yeah. I'll help you."

"Yes!" both Max and Danny jumped in the air and high-fived each other. "Alright, we're going to see the quantum ranger kick some ass!"

Eric's face became very serious, as he eyed all of them. "There's just one thing, though."

"What's that?" asked Taylor.

**Back in the Future…..**

"Are you positive, Trip?" asked Katie. Lucas, Trip and she were all in Lucas's apartment hanging out, when Trip had just told them what he had found inside of Circuit. "Maybe you just forgot that you made that kind of adjustment."

"Yes. I'm positive. I know all of Circuit's wires and chips by heart; someone changes his wiring."

Lucas lay back against his couch, not seeming alarmed by the issue. "What's the big deal anyways? Circuit seems just fine to me."

"And he is." Trip took a moment to gather his thoughts on how to explain to them what alarmed him about Circuit's changes. "But the wires and chips that were different, they were the ones for his memory bank." He waited for the reactions of his two friends.

"Wait." Lucas stood up, becoming slightly alarmed now. "Are you saying someone messed with his memory?"

"I think someone erased his memory, or at least altered it."

"Why would someone do that?" asked Katie.

"I…I don't know," answered Trip as he shrugged his shoulders. "But I did some checking… You do know that it is standard procedure that whenever anyone who has gone on a mission to a different time for more than a week, that when they return, any human, alien, mutant or robot must have their memories erased."

"So you're saying that Time Force sent Circuit on a mission and then erased his memory when he returned, without your knowledge?" Lucas had known Trip to come up with some crazy ideas, but this had to be the craziest of them all. "Why would Time Force send a robotic owl on a mission?"

"I don't think it was just Circuit…."

Katie felt her heart skip a beat, as she stared into Trip's eyes. That look he was giving her told her something was wrong, and just maybe he was right. "You're saying we all were on a mission and had our memories erased?"

"Trip come on, you can't really believe that."

"Then explain to me how we became power rangers." He looked at them both, waiting for an answer. "Do one of you remember how we got the morphers, or why Alex no longer is a ranger?"

"Lucas, he's right." Katie had to agree Trip was onto something, she wasn't sure what, but something definitely was up. "We just woke up one day, had our morphers and Alex was alive and well. The last I knew he was dead, killed by Ransik, after that I remember nothing except waking up and several months had passed."

As much as Lucas hated to admit it, they were right. "If this is true, we may not be able to get our memories back for whatever did happen, but just maybe Circuit can."

Katie turned to Trip. "Trip, can you get Circuit's memory back?"

"Maybe. I won't be able to get all of it, but I may be able to get a portion of it back. It's just going to take some time."

"We should all be very careful, guys, we're running on thin ice." Lucas's face became very serious. "Time Force erased our memories for a reason."

"Right." Trip nodded his head, agreeing.

Katie's eyes lit, if their memories had been erased then maybe… "Guys, do you think Jen's memories were erased, too…."

Eric had just gotten finished explaining to them the situation of how the odds might not be on their side, after all.

"If you don't have it, then who does?" asked Alyssa.

"Anyone could have it for all I know. I deactivated my voice identification. It is fair game." He sighed heavily. "The best thing we can hope for that it was destroyed. The last thing we need is for it to land in the wrong hands."

"But you'll still fight by our side?" asked Cole.

"Yes. Powers or no powers, I'm still going to fight."

Taylor bowed her head down; maybe she had been wrong about Eric after all. He might be very high-strung, but he was an honorable warrior for good. He was full of courage, and willing to die protecting mankind from the havoc of the three org-like creatures.

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She was not sure how long she had been out. The last thing she remembered was Ransik tossing her against the brick wall like she was a rag doll. Her forehead felt damp and then she realized someone was holding a wet cloth to her head. Jen tried to open her eyes but everything was a blur.

"Easy now, you've been out for nearly sixteen hours," answered a gentle voice.

Jen wasn't coherent enough to recognize the voice, but one thing was for sure, the voice wasn't Eric's. The voice belonged to a female.

"Wh-where am I?" Jen tried to push herself up.

"You need to lie down, Jen, you hit your head pretty hard," answered the voice as she pushed Jen back down onto the bed. The stranger ran the cloth in a bowl of water and pressed it against Jen's head. "We're in the bunker of the old Silver Hills hotel…"

"Silver Hills? ... But I was in Turtle Cove ….. Silver Hills was destroyed." Jen soon drifted off to sleep once again.

"How is she?" asked a deeper voice.

The female stranger, revealing herself to be Nadira, turned her face toward the dark figure standing in the shadows of the entranceway. "She's going to be fine. Just needs to rest…"

"Good. Let me know when she wakes up."

"Of course." She watched as he turned around and started to head out. "Wait, how's James doing?"

"The little guy is doing just fine. Still sleeping in his crib." He knew Nadira worried very much about the young baby boy. "Don't worry, he's safe, nothing can get to him."

"I know. I know you won't let anything happen to him."

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" Ransik faced the three mutorgs. "It has been many long years since we last met. Last I heard, you were in Time Force prison."

"And we were, until three weeks ago," answered Takach. "But when we arrived here we learned of your presence and thought perhaps we'd join forces."

Ransik eyed the three; still to this day he did not trust them. "And why should I trust any of you?"

Takach laughed. "Still the same old Ransik; that's what I like about you. Always questioning other's true intentions." Takcach eyed Ransik sharply, maybe even tauntingly. "But I can assure you, our intentions are the same. To wipe out mankind, and take the Earth for our own." He got right into Ransik's face. "What do you say?"

Ransik quickly drew out his sword, pointing it right at Takcach. "And how do I know that once we have taken over the Earth that you and your kind won't take me out?"

"I see you have accomplished the techniques of the org powers we gave you." He put out his hand. "You have my word; after all you are practically one of us."

Slowly Ransik drew his sword away. "Perhaps we can work something out." The four then began discussing battle strategies of how they would take over the Earth, but Ransik had plans of his own. For now he would trust the three, but he would keep his eyes open and would not let the slightest thing slide by. He knew the orgs were not to be trusted. But for now they could be of some help to him.


	7. Waking Up

If someone had told him two years ago he would be standing on an island in the sky, he probably wouldn't have believed them. But with everything that had happened, time travel, being a ranger, the Q-Rex, everything, a floating island in the sky and a princess shouldn't throw him for any loops.

"Welcome, I'm Princess Shayla. You must be Eric, it's wonderful to finally meet you," The smile on her face just glowed, the others had been right. He truly was a warrior at heart, just by looking at him. She could feel his inner sprit. "It's not everyday we get to meet other power rangers."

"Yeah." He shook her hand firmly. "So the others have told me that this is your home….or at least what's left of it."

"Yes." She smiled faintly. "Many years ago there was a great battle. All that remains of my home is this piece of island, the wild zords, Merrick and myself; all others perished." Though it had been many years, a day hadn't gone by that she didn't think of all those who had died that day; all she could hope was that they were in a place of peace. "I suppose you can relate. I heard about what happened to your home and your friend. I truly am sorry."

"Thanks." He didn't know what it was, but just being in her presence made all the pain and agony he had been in seem to wither away. Maybe it was just part of it: this place, the other rangers. It seemed to remind him of how it had been working with Wes's team, though it had taken a while before they became a team and actually worked together. The funny thing was he had missed it; more than he wanted to admit.

"Ah hmm." Merrick coughed as he walked up behind Princess Shayla, staring at Eric sharply.

Eric released his hand from Princess Shayla and stepped back a few feet, watching as Princess Shayla moved around. "You must be Merrick." Eric put out his hand, waiting for the young man to return the same gesture. On the way here the others had told him a little about Merrick, not very much, and now he was beginning to see why.

"And you're Eric. It's nice to meet you. I've heard you're quite the fighter." He shook Eric's hand firmly.

"So I've been told."

"Well, now that we got everyone introduced, why don't we get down to business," interrupted Taylor. She could almost sense the tension between the two, which didn't surprise her too much, both Eric and Merrick shared the same personality. She just hoped it wouldn't get in the way of what needed to be done. "Like finding out where these three orgs came from."

A few moments later everyone gathered around and sat down. Before they did anything, they needed to know just who they were dealing with and why they were here. "I am sorry, rangers, but I'm afraid I have no idea where they came from." Shayla looked over to Merrick. "Merrick, did you recognize the three at all?"

"No, I'm afraid not. They aren't like any of the Orgs I have ever seen before. There's something very different about them…." He bowed his head down, sighing, hating that he couldn't provide more information. He was an ancient warrior, he should know more, but he couldn't place these three anywhere.

"But if we don't know what we're dealing with, then how are we supposed to fight them?" announced Alyssa.

"Yeah. You saw how powerful they all were," stated Max, who knew they had their hands full. If they hadn't gotten there when they did, Eric could very well not be sitting with them now.

Danny seemed distraught as well. Though he had great strength, he had very little courage, but would never let the others know anything of it.

"Then we'll just have to face them," announced Cole, as he eyed all of his friends, his family. "The Earth needs us, we can't let them win, guys."

"I…I…" Eric looked up, finally breaking his long silence. "I may know someone who can answer our questions about where they came from." If he hadn't yelled at her and blamed her, then maybe she'd be here with them now. "It just won't be easy finding her."

"Who?" Taylor asked.

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Jen slowly opened her eyes. At first everything was blurry and hard to make out. How long had she been out? But more importantly, where was she? She blinked her eyes a few times, and everything started to come into focus. The first thing she could make out was the ceiling above her, darkened, due to the lack of light. It was then she realized she was lying on something soft, a bed. How had she ended up here? The last thing she remembered… "Eric..." She jolted out of the bed.

"Oh, you're awake." Nadira stood up and turned around from the chair she had been sitting in from across the room. "How are you feeling, Jen?"

"Nadira." Jen started backing against the wall. She started feeling for her wrist, for her morpher. "What the hell is going on here!"

"Take it easy. I'm on your side," Nadira exclaimed, trying to convince Jen she no longer wanted to hurt anyone.

"Yeah. Like I'm supposed to believe that!" Jen snapped. There was no way in hell she would ever believe Nadira had changed sides, not after all the problems she had caused. Jen pressed her finger on her morpher and called for her blaster. "Put your hands up!"

"But it's the truth… You have to believe me," Frantically Nadira put up her hands; she couldn't blame Jen for not trusting her. "I've changed."

"I don't think so." Jen started coming towards her, blaster pointing straight out. "People like you don't change." As Jen got closer, she heard another voice coming from the chair, but couldn't quite make it out. "What's that noise?" When Nadira didn't answer, Jen yelled once again. "Tell me!"

"Easy now, just don't shoot." Nadira moved very slowly and bent down to pick something up from the chair. It was a baby boy, no more than a year old. "It's okay, James, she's not going to hurt you." Nadira gently rocked James in her arms, trying to calm the young child down.

"What…. What's going on here…" Jen was in total shock, she started moving backwards. What was going on? And what was Nadira doing with a baby? None of it made any sense.

Other noises emerged from outside the room. "Don't move." Jen looked at Nadira square in the eyes, then turned around and opened the door. She saw a group of six or eight Silver Guardians running down the hall, and running ahead of them, the Quantum Ranger.

"Let's move it, men!" she heard him shout.

Jen took one last look over at Nadira and the baby boy and then started after the Silver Guardians, needing to find out what was going on here.

"No, Jen, wait!" Nadira yelled, but it was too late. She sighed heavily and hugged James, before giving him a kiss on the cheek. "He's going to kill me."

James giggled and looked into Nadira's eyes. "Mama…"

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"So the other rangers, they were from the future?" asked Alyssa. Eric had just finished telling them about Jen and the others, everything.

"Yes. They came from the year three thousand, to capture Ransik."

"And Wes sent them back. And up until the other night was the last time you heard from any one of them?" added Max.

"That's right. Jen told me she's been after those three orgs, as you call them."

"But then you yelled at her and she took off," exclaimed Taylor, which didn't surprise her, Eric seemed the type to yell at anyone, no matter the reason. But in this case, she couldn't say she wouldn't have done the same thing.

"Yeah…" he answered softly, knowing he had gone a little too strong on Jen. He had said some things he probably shouldn't have, but there was nothing he could do to undo the words he had shed on her the night before.

"What if she went back to the future?" asked Danny.

Eric shook his head. "No. That wouldn't be like Jen. She's still here, somewhere." He bowed his head down, sighing. "I just don't know where, and without my morpher I have no way to get in touch with her."

"What about your friend's morpher, Wes's?" asked Cole.

"No. Wouldn't work. The morpher was seriously damaged, not even Bio-Lab's top technicians could repair it."

Merrick stood up promptly. "I'll find her."

"You don't even know what she looks like."

"Won't be a problem, because you'll be coming with me."

"Okay, but we don't even know where to begin to look." Eric could sense from the moment that he met Merrick that a part of him didn't quite trust him. "Unless of course you're some type of tracker?"

"Something like that."

Princess Shayla stood up and gripped Merrick's shoulder. "Yes. Merrick is very good at tracking people down."

"Alright. I'll give you that." He eyed the other rangers. "But, first sign of trouble, get a hold of us."

"And that goes for you too," announced Taylor. "We're in this together."

Eric nodded his head and then followed Merrick as the two left the Animarium to begin their search for Jen and perhaps their only hope at stopping the three creatures from the future.

Alyssa walked up behind Taylor and grinned. "Still think he's such a bad guy?"

"He's beginning to grow on me."

"Do you think they'll find her?" asked Danny.

"Don't worry, my friends, they will find her. I can just feel it," answered Princess Shayla.

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Jen rushed up a flight of stone stairs, quickly catching up to the Guardians. She wasn't sure what was going on or where they were going, but one thing was for sure, something was definitely up.

"Be careful guys, we don't know what they're capable of!" announced the Quantum Ranger. "And remember if Ransik is there, he's mine!"

"Understood, commander!" exclaimed one of the Silver Guardians. As they reached the top of the stairs, they were in total darkness.

"Let's move out, nice and easy." Slowly he crept outside, Quantum Defender in hand. He waved his hand, signaling for the Guardians to follow him outside in the dark of night.

Jen watched them go, one by one; she peered out the entryway that appeared to no longer have a door. And what she saw outside put her in total shock. Destruction was in every direction she looked. Traffic and road signs torn into pieces, bricks of buildings crumbled into pieces and no light in sight.

She couldn't believe what she was seeing. What the hell had happened? Jen backed away, right into a large desk; not being able to move any further she turned around and her eyes just lit up. Right above her was a worn out sign, but she could still make out the lettering, it read SILVER HILLS HOTEL.

"This isn't Turtle Cove. I'm in Silver Hills." She ran outside. "Eric…." But no one was in sight; both the Quantum Ranger and Guardians were gone. "They must have gone after the mutorgs…" Knowing that they wouldn't have the firepower to stop them, she had to catch up to them and warn them. "They don't know what they're up against!"

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"This was the last place I saw her," announced Eric. He had taken Merrick to Mr. Collins' office, the last place he had seen Jen. He watched as Merrick walked around the room, scanning everything in sight.

Merrick took in the sight, trying to lock onto anything that would lead them to Jen's whereabouts. He could almost feel the tension in the room from the other night, but the whole room was full of tension. He walked around the desk and stopped when he noticed a photograph on Mr. Collins desk; it was of Mr. Collins and a young man. "Is that him?" He turned to Eric. "Your friend, Wes?"

"Yeah. That's Wes."

Merrick had a way of knowing people. He could just take one look at them and know what kind of person they were. He could tell that Wes was a good person and wanted nothing more than for his father to be proud of him. "He seemed like he was a good person."

"…Yeah. He was."

Merrick turned to Eric, eyeing him carefully. "You answer that like you really don't know. I thought you were his friend."

"Well…" Eric sighed. "We never were really friends. In fact I spent most of my time envying him, rather than being his friend."

"But you mourn his death."

"Yeah." Eric bowed his head. "I guess it took him dying for me to realize just how much of a friend he was. I just never took the time to notice before."

"Sometimes it take losing someone, to know just how much they mean to you."

"You make it sound like you know what you're talking about."

Merrick took one last look around the room, ignoring Eric's last comment or just choosing not to answer it. "Let's move out."

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It was unbelievable. A little less than a year before, this had once been a proud and beautiful standing city, but now it was in ruins. Destroyed. Silver Hills had fallen, even with Wes's brave and sacrificing efforts the city had fallen. And Ransik still remained. Jen had lost sight of the Guardians she had tried following nearly an hour ago. They had been too quick for her to catch up with, due to the injuries she had from her encounter with Ransik.

"I can't believe this happened!" It nearly brought tears to her eyes, seeing the city in the state it was. Total darkness. The ground littered with dead bodies, piled on top of each other, and destroyed cyclobots scattered all around. Buildings were either destroyed or abandoned.

The park she had gone to on many occasions was gone. Nothing was left, the freshly grown green grass, the tall leaf-filled trees, the singing birds and beautiful growing things, all of it was gone. But nothing prepared her for what she saw next. "No….no…." The Clock Tower, the home she and the others had lived in with Wes, had been destroyed. It felt as if someone had stabbed a knife in her heart, to see her home in pieces. "Not you too." A few tears trickled down her cheek.

**Back in the future….**

Alex was working on the computer, going over cadet files. Logan had assigned him to desk duty shortly after their talk about Jen; it was Logan's way of de-ranking him, or in this case his punishment, for the time being. He didn't mind the work, but given the situation he'd much rather spend his time searching for Jen than going over reports of other cadets and their status. But Captain Logan had made it clear that he would handle Jen's situation.

"Okay, Cadet Porter Cook." Alex read off the list and then typed the Cadet's name into the computer. The computer began to scan for the file on Cook. Once the scan completed it came back, saying NO RECORD.

"No record… That's impossible." Again Alex typed the name into the computer, but each time it came back with the same results. Maybe he was just tired; maybe he had misread the name on the paper. He looked over the list and searched for Porter Cook, but there was no Porter Cook on the list. He let out a heavy sigh, relieved that he wasn't losing it. "Okay, who's next, Luc Barns…" And even as he read the name aloud, he watched as the name faded away off the sheet of paper. "What in the world…." He quickly put Luc Barns' name in the system, but it came back with no record of him ever being in the system, ever existing….

Now he was frightened, scared out of his mind, and what scared him even more was that Barns and Cook probably weren't the only ones that had disappeared without a trace. Alex knew something in the past must have changed, something bad had happened and it would only be a matter of time before his memory of those two ever existing would be erased from his memory. He had to act fast. He needed to get to the past and stop the mut-orgs before they caused any more damage.

He flashed out of the room, running as quickly as he could, but he was in such in a rush he didn't see Lucas ahead of him. He ran right smack into Lucas. "We need to talk," announced Lucas harshly, as Katie and Trip joined him in surrounding Alex.

"Look, I don't have a lot of time. Just come with me and I'll explain everything." He looked them all in the eyes, knowing any moment now any one of them could disappear from existence. "But we've got to move now!"


	8. Arriving

"Okay Alex, do you mind telling us why the hell we did what we just did?" yelled Lucas. "We stole a time ship! Do you know how much trouble we can get in for this?"

Only moments ago, they had arrived in the year 2002 and were on a beach not too far from Turtle Cove. Alex double-checked the computer to make sure that the time ship was in full working condition. When everything appeared to be in order he turned around to face them, knowing that they had many questions and more would come after he got done telling him the situation. "It didn't stop you the last time."

"What are you talking about?" asked Katie as she and her friends shared confused glances with each other. Was it true, did they use a time ship once before? Trip had never been able to unlock the secrets that Circuit held.

"Let's start with what you do know." Alex wasn't sure just how much they knew, but he was sure they knew something.

"We know that someone erased Circuit's memory. I checked the wires myself," answered Trip. He took a deep breath, almost afraid to say the next part of what he knew or at least assumed had happened. "And possibly our memories, as well."

If Alex was surprised he didn't show it. He had been with Time Force long enough to hide all such emotions, never letting his guard down. He knew even the slightest suspicion from them would be upsetting to Time Force. "What makes you believe that?"

"Cut the bullshit, Alex!" Lucas got right into Alex's face and felt unknown unresolved issues he had with Alex come over him. He wasn't sure why, but he had all this anger towards Alex, and knew his anger had to be more than just Alex breaking up with Jen. "Tell us what the hell is going on here."

"I see that your resentment towards me hasn't changed." He bit his lip and sighed. "And you probably have every right to hate me, but right now I need you all to trust me." He eyed each and every one of them, knowing this time things had to go differently. He would have to become a leader they could trust, and the only way he could gain that trust was for him to tell them the truth. Tell them everything that had happened, whether Time Force would like it or not.

"Not until you tell us what is going on." Lucas stared him hard in the eyes. "And I mean everything…"

"All right, but you're not going to like what I have to tell you." Over the next hour, he told them. Told them about things they had done, the places they had gone and the people they had met and even befriended, but none of it they remembered. He could tell it was difficult for them hearing this, hearing about things they didn't even know they had done. And what was even harder, was telling them about Wes. He watched as the three struggled to remember. Remember the young man who had fought beside them, helped them settle into their new home, become their friend, and how he made the willing sacrifice to save their lives. But they couldn't. They couldn't remember. The memory adaptation had made sure of that.

"So the whole thing they told us, that after we watched Ransik strike you down we got the morphers and went after him, but got caught in a huge explosion and were in a coma, was a lie," announced Lucas. He couldn't believe Time Force had lied to him and the others like that. He didn't care what the book said about time travel and the precautions to take.

"Yes."

"And Jen knew, knew this whole time?" asked Katie.

"Yes. I didn't put her through the memory adaptation all the way."

"So she remembers everything!" announced Lucas harshly. "But we don't!" Lucas was angry, angrier then he ever thought he could be. He was angry at Alex for doing this, angry at Time Force for screwing with his head and angry at Jen for keeping this from them. "I can't believe this! Why the hell did she get to remember? And don't tell me it had anything to do with some crazy plan of yours……"

"She was in love..." interrupted Trip, finally understanding things or at least some of it. Now it was all starting to make sense.

"What are you talking about, Trip?" asked Katie, knowing that Jen was no longer in love with Alex. "Alex and Jen broke up…."

"Not Alex and Jen …. Jen and Wes."

"What?" Lucas couldn't believe this. It didn't seem possible or even like Jen to fall in love with a native of a different time period; it went against all the rules. They shouldn't even have befriended him in the first place. He turned to Alex, knowing he was the only one who could answer the question. "Is that true?"

"Yes, she did fall in love with him." It still hurt to even say it out loud; he sighed heavily. "And I knew it." He bowed his head down. "So now you understand why I couldn't put her through the memory adaptation. She didn't love me anymore. It wouldn't have been fair to either one of us."

"You didn't break up with her." Now it did make sense. Every time she had asked Jen what had happened between her and Alex, Jen would always change the subject and not want to talk about it. "She broke up with you."

"Yeah," Alex sighed.

Lucas sighed; maybe he had been wrong about Alex. He wasn't such a bad guy, after all, once you got past his attitude he really was a decent guy. "I'm sorry…. I misjudged you."

"Don't worry about it. You have every right to be angry with me."

"What do we do now?" asked Trip.

"We need to go see Wes's father; he has something we're going to need." He yawned heavily, feeling sleep come over him. "But that will have to wait till tomorrow; we're all going to need our rest." Because very soon they would be facing their biggest threat ever and they were going to need everything they had to win.

"Where do you think they came from?" asked one of the Guardians as he and the commander, who was still morphed into the Quantum Ranger, returned with the other Guardians from a battle that nearly cost them their lives. They weren't prepared to face off with the three unknown creatures and an army of cyclobots.

"I don't know, but I think I know someone who might," he answered as they all entered back into the hotel. He kept looking over his shoulder, watching as his team all got back inside and making sure they weren't followed. He knew if Ransik ever found out where they were, they'd be history.

One by one they went down the flight of stairs going into the secret bunker below the hotel. Nadira came flying towards them, very concerned, and they all could see it.

"What's wrong?"

"She took off. I tried to contact you, but couldn't get a signal."

The Quantum Ranger started back up the stairs. He should have known Jen would take off, once she saw Nadira sitting by her side. He should have done things differently, but with Ransik and the three creatures flying around, that came first. "I've got to find her!"

"We'll come with you, sir," announced one of the Guardians.

"No, I can do this alone." He knew he couldn't let the Guardians come with him, not when they knew nothing about the three new creatures who called themselves orgs. They weren't prepared for them, and so far they had shown themselves to be a deadly opponent. "I need you guys to stay here."

"Be careful." Nadira's eyes were filled with deep concern for him. She wasn't sure what she would do if anything ever happened to him.

"That's my job."

"It's late, we'll continue the search tomorrow," announced Merrick.

Eric pulled the truck over; they were back in Silver Hills, or what was left of it. It hadn't been easy getting back in; Ransik had made sure no one could get in or out, but they had been lucky enough to get past the slew of cyclobots guarding the entrance into Silver Hills.

Eric got off the truck and started heading towards a house; the door was broken down and the windows were smashed in. Merrick quickly followed behind him. "Where are you going? We should remain in the motorized contraption."

"You can sleep in the truck if you like, but there's nothing like sleeping in your own bed." He turned to Merrick, sighing. "This is my home…. Or at least it was." He stepped inside; everything for the most part was just as he had left it, minus the pieces of glass, fragments of the ceiling, and trash lying all over. He slumped down on his torn up couch and let out a heavy sigh.

Merrick sat down in one of the chairs, and eyed the room carefully; for a moment he could sense what this room once was. He also felt the loneliness that had once filled it and perhaps still did. It wasn't until then that it occurred to him that Eric had been alone. A feeling he knew all too well.

"So…" Breaking the silence, Eric turned to Merrick. "You and the other rangers, you guys hang out a lot?"

"They do, but I'm usually fairly busy…" He crossed his hands together, bowing his head down and letting out s sigh. "I don't belong in their world. I should have been dead a long time ago…"

Eric didn't know much, only that Princess Shayla had been asleep for over a thousand years and Merrick as well; everything and everyone they ever knew were gone… "So you and the Princess - was there ever anything between you two?" It wasn't that he was interested in the Princess, he could just sense the tension from Merrick when he and the Princess had been talking together.

Merrick didn't answer; he remained silent. He was her protector, sworn to keep her from all danger, out of harm's way. And he had lived up to that, for a price. "There was a time." He looked up. "But that's all in the past now, we can never be together, we're from two different worlds."

Though he had never been in love, he did know the feeling of being from two different worlds. Which is one of the reasons a friendship with Wes could never work, or at least that's what he told himself. Wes probably would have said different. Wes had been born rich, never had to worry about anything, while he was born in a broken home; he had been lucky to make it out of there alive. "I know the feeling."

Jen curled up against the wall of the odd jobs shop she and her friends had started; it was all that remained of the home in which they had shared so many memories together, but now she was the only keeper of those memories. Her friends didn't remember and never would, and Wes was gone….

She was so lost and confused; all she wanted to do was go home, but….she was home, it just no longer felt the same, not without the people that once filled it. The warmth and love was gone. Love….a few tears trickled down Jen's cheek, being here only brought back the memories of herself and Wes spending time together. There were so many times she had tried to tell him how she felt about him, how much she loved him, but never could get the words out, and now she would never able to tell him.

"I should have just told you when I had the chance…." She looked up, and stared off into the night sky, the only beautiful thing that still remained in Silver Hills. "I love you, Wes. I just wish I had told you sooner."

"Jen I…." Jen turned around and saw a dark shadow heading towards her. "Look out!"

Jen turned and saw the Quantum Ranger running towards her in a frantic rage, he dodged towards her, grabbing a hold of her, as they rolled to miss an incoming blast. "You okay?" He got up off of her and helped her to her feet.

"Thanks to you."

"Damn, I missed." They both turned around and found themselves face to face with Takach, along with his two comrades Rofang and Kired. "We meet again, pink Ranger, we were beginning to think you were dead."

"Yeah. Well, you're going to wish I was, once we're through with you!" Jen raised her morpher up and morphed into the pink Ranger.

"So you do know them?" said the Quantum Ranger.

Jen turned to him, confused. "Of course, I told you already. I followed them here from the future. Did you hit your head or something, Eric?"

"Eric…" Rofang stepped forward. "You're not the same Eric Myers we fought in Turtle Cove, are you?"

"Impossible, I memorized the way he and Eric Myers fight, they couldn't be the same person," announced Kired. "Who are you?"

"That's a good question." Jen turned and stared at him. "If you're not Eric, then who are you?"

"I don't care who he is, both of you are dead!" Takach headed towards them, fully intending to kill them both. His two comrades soon followed with the odds in their favor, as they cornered Jen and the unknown Quantum Ranger.

"Don't worry, we'll make your deaths nice and quick," growled Rofang as he lashed out at Jen, but she was ready for him; she kicked him hard in the gut and he dropped to the ground groaning. "You're going to pay for that!"

"Yeah. Come and get me." She wasn't about to back down; she had stayed alive this long and she was determined to stick around to the end.

"Think you can handle him on your own?"

"Yeah. You take care of Takach and Kired. I can handle Rofang just fine." After all, she had been chasing after the three of them on her own for weeks, handling one of them should be a piece of cake.

"You're the boss." He got face to face with the other two and pulled out his Quantum Defender, waiting for them to make the first move. He needed to learn everything he could about them; they had caught him and the Guardians by surprise with their last encounter. He wasn't about to make the same mistake again. "So which one of you wants to go first?"

Takach glared at Kired, just eyeing him, chanting softly to him in a tongue only they knew. _Don't attack, wait for my call…_

The Quantum Ranger wasn't sure what they were talking about, but one thing was for sure, they didn't want him to know what they were saying. _Better keep my guard up._

Jen had her hands full with Rofang; he was proving to be a powerful opponent. Every punch and kick he threw at her was harder than the last, and she could only block his moves for so long. Already she could feel her head spinning, alerting her that she hadn't quite recovered from her encounter with Ransik.

Jen stepped back a few feet, dazed. The next thing she saw was her attacker shoving her against a wall. She struggled to get free, but couldn't. She couldn't even call out for help.

"What's the matter, pinky, don't have any fight left in you? I've got to say I'm a little disappointed. I was hoping you'd put up a fight…"

The Quantum Ranger turned his head; his heart skipped a beat. "Oh no….Jen!" He watched as Rofang pressed her against the wall, digging his claws into her. "Let her go!" He pointed the Defender straight out, right at Rofang's head. "Or I swear you're going to be sorry that you didn't."

"I think you're the one that's going to be sorry," yelled Takach, taking the opportunity that chance had given him and whacked the Quantum Ranger hard against the head, knocking the Ranger to the ground, dazed and confused. He pressed his foot against his chest, crushing the Quantum Ranger's ribs. "You shouldn't have let your guard down, Quantum Ranger."

Rofang pushed Jen to the ground and she dropped down next to the Quantum Ranger. She tried to stay focused on what was around her, but everything kept on getting darker and darker, and the last thing she saw before everything went completely black was a wave of pink shooting a blaster shot at the three.

"Leave them alone!" yelled Nadira, getting herself in between the mutorgs and her friends. She held in her hand a massive blaster gun, one of her own weapons she had taken from the time ship when she had arrived here all those months ago. "Because there's more firepower where that came from!"

"You may have won this round, mutant, but the war has just begun." Takach, nodded to his comrades. "Come, my friends, so that we can tell Ransik where his daughter's loyalty lies."

Nadira's eyes widened at the mention of her father's name, but she never said a word. She watched as the three disappeared away. "This is not good."

"Tell me about it." He pushed himself up, still a little dazed from the blow to his head, but otherwise alright.

"You okay? I was beginning to worry something happened to you two, so I came out looking for you."

"Well, I'm glad you did." He turned to Jen who was lying unconscious on the ground, still morphed. "Who knows what would have happened?"

"She's going to be okay?"

"Yeah. It will take more than a few bumps and bruises to keep Jen down." He bent down and picked her up. "I have a feeling we're going to need her to stop those three."

"You have no idea…." announced Nadira, knowing just what they were up against.


	9. Joining Forces

"Are you positive it was her?" Ransik glared at the three of them right in the eyes, wanting to make sure his estranged daughter was in fact the one who had prevented them from killing the pink and quantum rangers.

"I have no doubt that it was your daughter Nadira who we encountered," Takach leered. "I take it this comes to a surprise to you?"

"Yes, it does. I was hoping she had been killed in one of the attacks, but this is by far worse. My daughter is allied with the enemy." Ransik clenched his fists tightly together, frustrated with the situation; the last time he saw his daughter was shortly after the red ranger had used the Q-Rex to destroy Doomtron, while sacrificing his life in the process, taking out both Frax and a number of cyclobots. After she had showed pity for the death of Frax she had taken off, not to be seen or heard from until…

"Then she is one of them," announced Rofang. "She must die along with the humans!"

Quicker than light Ransik moved fast and gripped his hand around Rofang's neck, squeezing it tightly, as he lifted the org above the ground. He growled into the org's monstrous face. "No one lays a finger on my daughter but me. I will handle her, is that understood?" Ransik eyed Takach and Kired, waiting for them to acknowledge what he had said.

"You have my word, no one but you will handle your daughter," said Takach.

"Good!" Ransik released Rofang, who gasped for a breath of air. "Because if any one of you does so much as to touch a hair on her, I will kill you all on the spot." And he meant it, his daughter might be on the humans' side now, but that still didn't change the fact that she was his daughter, now and forever.

"But keep in mind, Ransik, that though she is your daughter, she is with them and against you…" Kired knew that when the final battle began, Ransik would have to make a choice as to where his daughter stood.

"I will do what I have to, to win…" answered Ransik.

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It was late morning when Alex and the others arrived in Mr. Collins' Bio-Lab building, a very different building from the one he had seen in Silver Hills. The others followed close behind him, unsure of why they were here.

"Alex, what are we doing here? You know we shouldn't interact with anyone from this time,' announced Lucas, as they walked down the hall and were receiving curious and odd looks, which he had guessed was because of their clothes. To the people of this time they looked as though they just came from a Star Trek convention or some other space type fandom of this time period.

While Alex knew that was part of the strange glances from several of the Silver Guardian and business people, he knew there was another reason, an even bigger reason, why everyone seemed to stop to take a second glance at them. It was because he shared the face of someone they all had known. "Don't worry. There's something they have here that I am going to need." Not another word was spoken until they came to a stop at Mr. Collins' office.

Alex knew this would be very difficult for Mr. Collins, more than he could ever imagine. He turned to the others, giving them each firm looks. "I do the talking here, is that understood?" They all nodded their heads in agreement, mainly because they weren't even sure why they were here. What could Bio-Lab possibly have that they were going to need?

With a deep breath, Alex knocked on the door. A few seconds passed. "Come on in."

_Here goes nothing. _Alex opened the door and he and the others stepped in. He waited for Mr. Collins to look up, waiting for the emotions of shock, confusion and happiness to sink in. And all the while knowing he would shatter those emotions with the truth.

"Wesley….." Mr. Collins got up to his feet and ran to the man who so resembled his dead son. He wrapped his arms tightly around him, as tears ran down his cheeks. "Oh Wesley, I thought I lost you." He pulled away slightly, and looked into Alex's eyes.

With a heavy heart, Alex sighed. "I'm sorry, Mr. Collins, but I am not your son."

"What? Wh-what do you mean, of course you're Wesley; you look just like him." He glared at the others: Katie, Lucas and Trip, three of the four rangers he had seen his son with on several occasions. "And you three are the other rangers."

This was going to be harder than he had thought, but he needed to convince Mr. Collins that he wasn't Wes. "My name is Alex Drake. I, like them, came from the future." He watched as Mr. Collins pulled away with a look as if someone had just stabbed the heart in his chest, a hundred times over. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Collins, more than you'll ever know."

It was like being told Wes was dead all over again, but he had already half known that this man wasn't his son, from the moment he had walked into the room. The different hair color, the older look in his eyes, and the seriousness in his face. He just so badly wanted to believe that Alex was Wes and not accept the truth that his only child was dead.

Katie, Lucas and Trip watched with great grief as Mr. Collins sank back down onto his chair, and grabbed a picture frame and stared at it for a long moment, longing for this nightmare to be over, for Wes to be alive, but he knew that wasn't going to happen. Wes would not be coming back.

Curious to learn about the man who Alex had said they once called friend, Katie approached Mr. Collins, giving him a faint smile. "Could I see that?" Mr. Collins handed her the picture frame.

Katie stared at it for a long while, staring into Wes's face, trying so hard to remember, but no memories came. Lucas and Trip had come up behind her and they too tried with all their might to remember the friend who had given his life for them, had given everything up for them, but this was a man they no longer remembered.

"I can't remember him," sighed Katie, she wanted nothing more than to remember, but no matter how hard she tried she could not unlock the memories that Time Force had hidden away.

"Me neither," answered Lucas, feeling just as down as Katie.

Even Trip, with his way to see pieces of the future, could not recall the man in the picture who they all so dearly wished they could remember. "Me too."

"What do you mean?" Mr. Collins stared at the three, confused. What were they talking about? It was as if they were three completely different people than the ones he remembered.

Alex took the picture frame away from the three and gave them a stern look before returning the picture back to Mr. Collins. "I know this has been a difficult time for you, but the future, this world, is in danger." His face became very serious, as he spoke very directly to Mr. Collins. "We came here for the red morpher."

"The red morpher." Mr. Collins sighed heavily. "I am sorry, but the red ranger morpher was destroyed. Not even my best scientists could repair it." He got up and opened his safe, and pulled out the morpher. "But it is yours if you still want it. I have no use for it." He placed the blood-stained morpher into Alex's hands.

"Thank you." Alex stared down at the morpher, the morpher Wes had fought so bravely with. Though it had been his in the first place, never had he felt so honored to hold it now. Wes had shown him there was more to being a ranger than always getting the job done. "Trip!"

"Yes."

He handed Trip the morpher. "See what you can do about getting this morpher up and running." Trip nodded his head and left the office room, knowing he was going to need the tools that were in the time ship to repair the morpher.

"Do you really think Trip will be able to repair it? It looked pretty banged up," exclaimed Lucas. He knew Trip was good, but even Trip couldn't fix everything.

"Let's hope so, because I have a feeling we're going to need all the help we can get. And speaking of help….." Alex once again approached Mr. Collins, knowing he and the others were overstaying their welcome, but with everyone's futures on the line he needed answers, answers only Mr. Collins could provide. "I need to know where Eric Myers is, the quantum ranger. It is vital we have his aid."

"I'm sorry, but Eric isn't here right now. He's been in contact with the Wild Force rangers and I assume is with them. I haven't had any contact with him in over a day," answered Mr. Collins. The last he and Eric had spoken was shortly after he had left the house with the Wild Force rangers and gone with them to their base of operations.

"Wild Force rangers?" Katie turned to Lucas, who just shrugged his shoulders. She had read about Wild Force, during her childhood. "But I thought they were only a myth."

"Not everything that's said to be a myth, is a myth," announced Alex. Though in his time many believed the Wild Force rangers to be only a myth, that was for a number of reasons. There was no real evidence they ever existed, only a short documentary tape made up by Tommy Oliver, legendary ranger, who talked of many rangers up until his death. Even of four rangers who had come from a far off future, but very few knew that this documentary tape even existed. "Do you know any of the Wild Force rangers' names, so that we may locate them?"

"No…" Mr. Collins bowed his head. He hadn't really met any of them. Only seen them from a distance - and then it came to him. "But wait, Eric, he pulled one of them over and issued them a ticket. I should be able to pull up the report, it was just a few days ago."

"Thank you."

"It's no problem. I don't want my son's death to be in vain."

Alex gulped in heavily as he sighed and gave a faint smile to Mr. Collins. "It won't be."

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"She was here, there appeared to be some kind of struggle," announced Merrick as he closely examined the area where, nights before, Jen had had a run-in with Ransik. They could even see a splatter of blood against the wall, which deeply concerned Eric that Ransik had already finished her off and they were too late.

"Do you know if she is okay?"

Merrick continued to study his surroundings, picking up on whatever he could. He closed his eyes, almost envisioning what might have gone on here. "There was someone else here, a man. I think he is the one who took Jen." He turned to Eric. "Not Ransik."

"The question is, is this new guy on our side?"

"Sorry, but you'll need Cole for that one." Though he was good at tracking people and things down, he wasn't so good with telling good from evil, perhaps it was because once he had been cursed by evil and could no longer recognize friend from foe. It was part of the reason why he and the other rangers never seemed to spend any time with each other unless it concerned an org.

"So any idea which direction they headed in?"

"Yes, they went this way." Merrick started to head in that direction, but stopped when an eerie feeling came over him. His face almost turned white as a ghost; something just wasn't right.

Something had spooked Merrick, that was for sure, and it wasn't the deadly look of the city and the smell of death around them. Eric knew something else had gotten to Merrick. "What is it?"

"Those three creatures, they're here."

Eric looked around, but saw no sign of them. "Where? I don't see them."

"Not here. But they are here in Silver Hills."

"Why would they come here? I thought Princess Shayla said they would be looking for this Master Org guy."

"They must have changed their minds."

"That still doesn't answer the question. There's nothing here for them, everything been destroyed."

Merrick thought a moment. Eric did make a good point. It made no sense for them to come here, unless… "You said that this Jen said they came from the future."

"Yeah… So…."

"What if at one point, their paths crossed with Ransik?"

And then Eric recalled the battle he had fought against the three, how there had been some type of reaction he couldn't quite make out when he had mentioned Ransik's name. Was it possible, could the creatures and Ransik know each other? "Shit. If they're with Ransik, we're in for the battle for our lives."

"I agree," answered Merrick. "We should split up. I will track down the location of Ransik and you continue the search for Jen."

"Hell no, I have an old score to settle with Ransik," exclaimed Eric very firmly. Though he and Wes hadn't really been friends, he owed it to Mr. Collins that Ransik pay for what he had done.

"Though I don't agree with this, I accept your wishes." Merrick looked Eric hard in the eyes. "Be careful, once we depart, we will no longer have any contact with each other."

"Thanks, but I learned a long time ago how to watch my own back."

Merrick nodded his head as if understanding, perhaps he and Eric were not that much different after all. "Just one thing, how and when I find her, how will I know that it is Jen?

"Just think of Taylor as a brunette."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Taylor opened her front door and found four strangers looking back at her, though one of them didn't appear to be a stranger at all. She looked into Alex's eyes. He looked so much like the photo she had seen in the paper, but yet something was different about him.

Before she could say anything, Alex stepped forward. "Taylor Earheart, I'm Alex Drake, my team and I came from the year 3001." He looked into her eyes. "We need your help."

Now, Taylor had seen a lot of crazy things in her life, but this had to be the craziest. Even after hearing the story from Eric, she still couldn't believe it, up until now that is. She stepped to the side to let them in, and one by one Alex and the others entered into her home.


	10. The Idenenity

Eric had found the location where Ransik and the creatures, along with an army of cyclobots, were hiding. It was a large warehouse that had been abandoned due to the evacuation.

He peered out, closer to the window, wanting to get a better look. Almost everyone that should be there was there, but someone was missing. Nadira…. Where was she? Had she been killed during one of the attacks? All he knew for sure was that Wes had killed Frax, while sacrificing his life to destroy the deadly robot that Frax had controlled, but not a word about Nadira. Some of the Silver Guardians had recalled seeing her; some even had mentioned that she seemed somewhat distressed. All he could do was wonder…

Eric couldn't hear what they were saying, but could only guess that none of it was good. They were preparing for a battle, a war. And he knew good and well their plans were to take mankind out and control the world for themselves. He clenched his fists together, he swore on his life that it wasn't going to happen. Not if he could help it.

He wanted to attack now, but he knew the odds were against him. The only weapon he had on him was his Silver Guardian blaster, which was only good for taking out cyclobots. The blaster wouldn't have much effect on Ransik or the creatures and though he had extreme fighting skills, there were just too many for him to handle. That was why Wes had died, there had been too many, too many for him to defeat on his own. Right now Eric knew the best thing for him would be to get in touch with Merrick and then the other Wild Force Rangers.

His fingers gripped round the two-way radio on his belt. Eric snatched it up and just as he was about to speak into it, it was yanked right out of his hands by a cyclobot. In a rage Eric went at his attacker, getting ready to punch him, but only to be held back by another cyclobot and then two more. _This wasn't good, not one bit._

The four cyclobots had dragged Eric into the warehouse; though Eric tried he couldn't break free from their hold. It was as if over all these months they had grown stronger somehow. Ransik sneered when he locked eyes with the man who had in the past caused him a number of problems. "Well, what do we have here?"

Already he could feel the rage and anger flow through his body. He hated Ransik with a passion; this was the man, the mutant, responsible for destroying Silver Hills, for the deaths of thousands of people. He wanted nothing more than to tear Ransik apart. And if it weren't for the cyclobots holding him back, he would do it right there and now, even if he had to go down with him.

One of the cyclobots stepped aside. It walked up to Ransik and handed him the two-way radio. Ransik gave a nod and the cyclobot went back to his post. Ransik glared at the radio device in his hand and then back to Eric. He snickered under his breath, as he dropped the device and slammed his foot down on it

"We should kill him now, Ransik" announced Takach. "Before he causes any more trouble."

"Let me do it! I'll rip him into pieces!" exclaimed Rofang.

Ransik pulled out his sword and walked towards Eric with it, and pressed it against his neck. He wanted to see the fear in Eric's eyes, wanted to see just what it took to send fear through him, just how much it would take to break him. "Who else knows you're here?"

It was going to take more than an ugly face and a sword to send him quivering. Eric darted his eyes and gave Ransik one powerful mocking stare. "Like I'm going to tell you."

With the handle of the bone sword Ransik whacked Eric hard over the head, causing a large cut to emerge; blood trickled down Eric's face. "Fool. Look around, I could kill you on the spot."

"Then why don't you do it?" Eric knew well enough that if Ransik had wanted him dead, he would be dead already. Ransik must need something from him, and right now that was his only leverage to stay alive long enough for the Wild Force Rangers to come to his aid. He knew it would only be a matter of time until Merrick would contact them, after not hearing from him.

"Don't tempt me!" Ransik slowly traced the blade of his sword against Eric's neck. He leered closer. "Just give it time; you'll be dead soon." His face was now right in front of Eric's, his hot breath breathing right on him. "After all, I did kill your one-time friend, the red ranger." Ransik watched as the rage and fury burned in Eric's eyes; it pleased him as he laughed under his breath and raised his sword to Eric's eye level. "Even now his blood still stains my sword……"

_The explosion had been massive, nothing could have survived; both the Q-Rex and Doomtron were in pieces all over the city, burning continuously. Not even Frax had survived. The once human-turned robot had died in this attack, unlike the last one. Ransik searched the ground, needing to make sure that no survivors remained. He was alone; Nadira had taken off after she learned of Frax's doom._

_He continued to look through the rubble and that was when he saw him. The red ranger, unmorphed, covered in blood, his clothes a mess, trying desperately to make a run for it, but his legs kept giving way and every time he fell to the ground. But Wes kept on trying, he couldn't let Ransik get to him, not when he was Silver Hills' only hope._

_"Fool!" Ransik grabbed his sword and launched it towards Wes. It was a direct hit, stabbing Wes right in the shoulder. The mighty mutant watched as Wes dropped to the ground and this time didn't get up, barely moving. Pleased, Ransik walked over to him and pulled his sword out of Wes. Wes's painful screams were music to his ears. He kicked Wes over on his back and pressed his foot against the wound. "Where are the other rangers?" He pressed his foot harder into the wound._

_The pain was all over his body and his breathing was starting to lessen, blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth. There was a large gash on the side of his head. He knew he was in bad shape and probably didn't have much time left. He had done just what he said he would. He had kept fighting down to his last breath. "You'll never find them."_

_Not what he wanted to hear. Ransik lifted Wes up from the ground and threw him like a rag doll into a pile of rubble. He waited a moment for movement, but saw none. It was done._

"You bastard!" Eric wanted to lash out at Ransik, at all of them. "I swear to God if I ever get free I will kill you myself with my own bare hands!"

Ransik laughed. "Hah, you would have to, wouldn't you? Since you no longer hold the quantum morpher."

"Believe me, I wouldn't need it," exclaimed Eric.

"Hey, maybe he knows who has the quantum morpher," announced Kinrid.

"Yes…" Ransik hissed. "Perhaps he does know."

And that's when Eric realized the only reason he was still alive was because they wanted to know who had the quantum morpher. But he was just as clueless as they were as to who now was the keeper of the quantum morpher, which was both a good and bad thing, depending on how you looked at it.

* * *

"So let me get this straight, you're some kind of descendant of a distant cousin of Wes's?" asked Taylor. She already understood where they had come from and why they were here. But she wanted to know why Alex so strikingly resembled the late Wesley Collins.

"Yes. Which is why I can exist, even though he is gone," announced Alex. He had known ever since he had gotten into the time ship that these questions would arise. Anyone could easily mistaken him for Wes or even assume he and Wes were twins.

"I see." It was all so overwhelming for her, and she had run across many bizarre things in her life. But someone from a thousand years in the future having an identical face to Wesley Collins' and somehow having similar DNA, had to be the biggest thing yet. "Wow, and I thought an island in the sky was strange."

"Well, now that we have that covered, do you know where we can find Eric Myers?" asked Lucas. Though he wasn't sure exactly how much time they had left until the major battle would begin, he knew time was very vital for them. They needed to find Eric as soon as they possibly could.

"He and Merrick went looking for your friend Jen, but that was a couple of days ago."

"Have you heard from them since?" asked Alex.

Taylor shook her head. "No. I've tried contacting Merrick, but he hasn't answered, but that's normal. And I've tried Eric's cell phone, but haven't been able to get through."

"Do you think they're still in Turtle Cove?" asked Katie.

Alex bit his lip, after hearing from Taylor how Eric had blown up at Jen there was only one place he could think of where Jen would have gone. "I think I may know."

"Where?" asked Taylor.

Alex eyed them all, and let out a sigh. He knew if that was where they all had gone to, they really needed to get moving. Silver Hills was no longer a safe place to be in, not even for a ranger. "Silver Hills."

"Why would she go there; that place is full of danger!" exclaimed Taylor. Not even she would set foot there, not after everything that had happened.

"Because it's home to her." Alex bowed his head down, sighing, knowing that coming here must have been difficult for Jen, knowing what she knew. "And where do you go when you feel it's the end of the world?"

"You go home," answered Trip. He couldn't begin to imagine how it must have been for Jen, for Eric to have put the blame for Wes's death onto her. How hard and painful it must have been for her to hear someone blame her for the death of a man she had fallen madly in love with. She probably just had kept on running and running, until she could run no more.

"Taylor, I need you to get in contact with the rest of your team, we're all going to Silver Hills," announced Alex.

"I'll contact them, but I can tell you right here and now that we will not abandon Turtle Cove." She knew if she and the others left their home, it would be defenseless from all sorts of attacks without anyone to protect it. "Silver Hills is gone; nothing you can do will bring it back."

"Perhaps, but if we don't all work together there may no longer be a Turtle Cove."

"Alex, what are you talking about?" asked Katie.

"The three orgs, they're working with Ransik now-"

Lucas cut him right off. "Wait, how do you know that?"

It was one of the main reasons why he didn't want Jen going after the three in the first place. "Because - it's all in their file, they have mutant DNA in them." He turned to his three teammates. "Ransik's DNA. And I would assume some of their DNA would be found in Ransik as well."

Now things were serious; no wonder Ransik was so powerful. Alex turned around to face Taylor, his eyes closing in on hers. He knew it was a lot to ask, to leave the city they had sworn to protect. He understood better than anyone, but this was too big of a threat for him and his team to handle on their own. "I know it's a lot to ask, and if there was any other way - but there isn't. We need another team of rangers, Taylor, and right now you're the only ones we've got."

"Please, we can't do this without you," said Lucas, knowing it was very rare for Alex, who had always worked alone, to ever ask for help.

"We need you," said Katie.

"The world needs you," added Trip.

As much as she hated it, she knew they were right. If Ransik and the three mutorgs succeeded in creating an army, Turtle Cove would be one of their destinations and by then, they might be too powerful for anyone to stop. "Alright, looks like you got yourself five more rangers."

"That's great. So with us, that makes nine rangers. Plus we have Jen, Eric and Merrick. Twelve rangers, that should be enough, right?" asked Lucas, staring right at Alex, needing that extra boost of confidence that this could work, that they could save the future.

"Try eleven rangers," exclaimed Taylor.

"Eleven?" said Trip, confused, he knew Lucas had counted right. He himself even counted, they had twelve rangers, or would have once they all joined up together.

"Eric no longer has the quantum morpher," announced Taylor.

Lucas, Katie and Trip all shared concerned and shocked looks with one another. This was why they had been trying to track down Eric, because they were going to need him as the quantum ranger to put an end to this threat.

"Are you sure?" asked Katie.

"Yes. He told me himself, he doesn't have it. It was lost months ago during the attacks in Silver Hills."

Alex looked closer, he didn't appear surprised by the news, but he didn't seem like he knew it either. "Did he say anything else?"

"Only that he deactivated his voice control and gave it to Wes, and that was the last anyone saw of the morpher."

"What if Ransik has it?" announced Katie, growing slightly fearful, if Ransik had the morpher and learned how to use it they all would be history, goners. There would be no point in even trying to save the future. They wouldn't stand a chance with that kind of power in Ransik's grasp.

"Ransik doesn't have it!" announced Alex, slightly angry. The last thing he needed was his team getting worked up. With a situation like this, he needed his team to stay focused and alert, ready for anything.

"How do you know that for sure? For all we know, one of the mutorgs could have it," exclaimed Lucas.

"Because I think I know who has it." Alex let out a sigh. He had known there was a slight chance. So much had gotten lost over the years. Numbers and dates had been changed, which would make the job all the harder in the long run. "I _do_ know who has the morpher right now, even as we speak."

"Who?" Trip asked.

* * *

Jen opened her eyes slowly. It took her a few moments to realize where she was and how she had gotten there. She was back in the room where she had seen Nadira and a small child. And then everything came back to her. She had taken off after the quantum ranger and a group of Silver Guardians, but had gotten separated from them and found herself at the clock tower. She had stayed there for a while, until the mutorgs, the three she had been after for weeks, had shown up.

She probably wouldn't be here if the quantum ranger and later Nadira hadn't shown up. It all seemed so confusing and she had more questions than she had started with. Why had Nadira helped her? And who was the quantum ranger; if it wasn't Eric who else could it be?

A few seconds later Nadira walked into the room, carrying little James with her. She looked over at Jen and smiled. "Good, you're finally up."

Jen moved quickly out of the bed, and got into what appeared to be some defensive type of stance. She wasn't sure why Nadira had come to her aid, but she wasn't ready to trust Nadira. For all she knew this was some kind of trick and at any moment Nadira would turn on her, or Ransik would walk into the room. But then why did that young baby boy seemed so taken with her?

"Please don't run off again, it's not safe out there. I can explain everything." Nadira set James down in his crib and started to approach Jen.

"Yeah. I bet it's one hell of a story." Jen's eyes didn't dare move off of Nadira. "Give me one good reason why I should trust you, of all people."

"Because she saved my life," announced another voice.

A chill went down Jen's spine, as she turned around to face the owner of that voice. A look of shock, grief, and joy overcame her, it just didn't seem possible. How had this happened? This had to be some kind of dream, but at the same moment she wished it wasn't. Her heart skipped a beat, as tears ran down her cheeks. "Wes…."


	11. Breaking Point

"Wes! You're alive," Jen cried, as she wrapped her arms tightly around him, wanting to make sure it was really him standing there and that this wasn't just a dream. "Everyone said you were dead. I thought I would never see you again," she choked, as she buried her head against his shoulder.

A few tears leaked from Wes's eyes, as he wrapped his arms around Jen. He was more than happy to see her after several months; nearly a year of being apart, but at the same time was feeling something else, something he was trying with all his might to hide. He glanced over at Nadira who gave him a faint smile. "If it wasn't for Nadira, I probably would be."

_Nadira! _And then the joy of Wes being alive turned into something else. Jen violently pushed away from him. She was angry, angrier then she ever thought she could be at him. "You asshole! Do you have any idea what you've been putting everyone through? Eric, your father, _me_…everyone thought you were dead…" she yelled. "You wouldn't have needed saving if you hadn't sent the others and me away in the first place!" She still couldn't believe he had done that, even after what Eric had told her. They had been a team, a great team, and he still had pushed them away and sent them back to the future. "After everything we have been through. How could you just-"

"I just had to," he sighed. Maybe she had every right to be angry with him for what he had done, but she would never understand. He could never tell her why. Why he did it.

"You just had to?" she exclaimed flatly. "That's not a reason, Wes."

Nadira came around to face her, trying to help Wes out. "Jen, if you just can hold out a little while longer, I'm sure Wes will be able to tell you just why he did it."

Jen's eyes felt boiling hot. Nadira was the last person she wanted to be getting any advice from. "You stay out of this!" She darted her finger towards Nadira. "This is between Wes and me."

Wes took a deep breath and came around to Nadira's side, to be face to face with Jen once again. "No." He watched as Jen's face grew angrier, much like it had back before they had become friends. "Look, if you give me some time, maybe I will be able to tell you, but I just need some timem Jen. Time to sort everything out."

"I can't believe you're siding with her, let alone listening to anything she has to say." Jen couldn't believe it. What had happened? It was as if he and Nadira were more truly friends than she and he had ever been. "She's the enemy! She's the reason Ransik escaped in the first place. She's evil, Wes, how can you be so blind?"

Nadira knew Jen had every right to say the things she had said, because at one point they had all been true, but that was before she had learned the truth. Before she had seen the world through her own eyes and not with the eyes of her father, but it still hurt. She felt as Wes gently gripped her shoulder. 'It's alright."

"No, it's not," answered Wes softly. He wasn't going to let Jen lash out at Nadira like that. The horrible things Nadira had done were in the past now. She was different now. She was the reason he was standing there right now. If it were not for her, he'd be gone. "Jen, for once in your life, get past all your anger that you hold against her and just listen." He took a moment to gather his words, needing to convince her that Nadira had changed, that she was no longer who she had once been. "I'm alive today because of her….."

_He wasn't sure how much time had passed since he had been lying there. A few minutes? An hour...maybe longer? He tried to move, but couldn't move anything. There was pain all over, probably broken bones and heavy bruising. He felt something wet underneath him, most likely blood. His blood. Ransik had done a number on him. This would be how it ends. He would die alone, covered with pieces of both the Q-Rex and Doomtron on top of him. But the thought of never seeing his father, even Eric, again, pained him even more than any of the injures he had withstood. He would never see Trip, Katie, Lucas…. He would never see Jen again…_

_Just when he thought it was all over, that this was the end, he started to feel some weight lift off of him, or at least he thought he did. He looked up, but everything was too blurry and hazy to see. He tried to speak, but only blood coughed out._

_"You're still alive…" he heard her say. He was sure he recognized the voice, but was in a state of denial, just barely hanging on; maybe he was just imagining things. She watched as he tried to speak again, but she gently stroked his cheek. "Shhh, try not to talk. You don't want him to find out you're alive." She continued to remove the rubble from on top of him. "I'm going to help you. Just hang in there…."_

_After that everything had been a blur. He vaguely recalled waking up in a warm bed a few times in a dark room. A cool wet cloth being pressed against his forehead to bring his fever down, and waking up having new bandages put on his wounds. It probably wasn't until a week later that he had fully regained consciousness and realized the person who had saved his life had been Nadira._

"Nadira, I, and a number of Silver Guardians have sought refuge underneath the motel ever since." Though it had only been a little less than a year, it felt much longer. It felt like several years had gone by. Every day was a struggle to stay alive, food and water sources were running out. It had become too dangerous to come above ground to look for food, and most of the stores that had been abandoned since the first attack had rotted and was no longer edible.

And they couldn't call for help, none of the phones worked, only a few of the Silver Guardians' radios worked, but were unable to make any contact from anywhere but Silver Hills. The place was crawling with cyclobots, which made it all the more difficult to make an escape, and with limited weapons it was only a matter of time until they would be defeated.

"So you've been here all this time, letting everyone think that you're dead." Jen just couldn't believe it. She couldn't seem to understand why, after all this time, Wes had led everyone to believe he was dead. She was so torn up inside. She didn't know what to think. What had happened to the Wes she had known? What had happened to the man she had fallen so in love with?

"Look, I never counted on anyone but Ransik thinking I was dead." It did pain him to think what his father had been going through, it pained him even more to think about Jen believing he had died. He hadn't counted on that happening. He hadn't counted on a lot of things. "That's why I took over being the quantum ranger; with my morpher destroyed I figured Ransik would think I was Eric. And that in time I would be able to defeat him."

"Yeah." Jen eyed Nadira; even if she had saved Wes's life, she still didn't trust her. "And how do you know that she still isn't working for her father? For all we know this could be one big trap." And even more coldly she added, "Just like the last time."

"Because _I_ know she isn't! She's on our side now." Wes took a giant step forward, it was very rare that he had ever stood up to Jen, and in past times it always began and ended in an argument between them. "Nadira had plenty of chances to kill me back when I was injured, but she didn't."

Moments of silence passed. It didn't seem to matter what she said. Wes had made up his mind up about Nadira and where her loyalty stood. Jen still couldn't believe it, that Wes was siding with Nadira and not her. What had happened to everything they had been through? They had been teammates long before Nadira supposedly decided to switch sides.

"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" exclaimed James, as he bounced up and down in his crib, full of energy.

"Coming, James." Nadira walked over to the crib and picked the young boy up out of the crib. "How's my little guy doing?" Nadira kissed him on the cheek and made her way back over to Wes and Jen.

"Daddy!" said James, holding out his arms to Wes, wanting to be held.

Wes, not even thinking, took James from Nadira's arms and the instant he turned back to look at Jen he knew all hell was about to break loose. _Ah shit!_

"_Daddy_!" exclaimed Jen. She couldn't believe it. Never had she felt so betrayed in all he life. She just stared at Wes holding the baby boy that had just called him Daddy. The man she loved had fallen in love with Nadira and had a child with her.

It was no wonder why he had been siding with her and not listening to a thing she had been saying. She could already feel tears getting ready to leak through her eyes, but she held them back. She wasn't going to cry, not in front of them. Not in front of Wes. "I can't believe this!"

Wes quickly handed James back to Nadira and started to approach Jen, reaching out to her. "Jen, let me explain…."

Jen angry and hurtfully shoved his arms away, not allowing him to touch her. "Explain! Explain what exactly?" she roared. "How you've been screwing around with her?"

"Jen, please." Wes tried again, to reach out to her.

"Don't touch me!" she yelled as she slapped his arms away. And now she couldn't hold back the tears, her heart had been broken into a million pieces. "Don't talk to me…." Jen choked. And not being able to take another second of this she ran out. "Just leave me alone!"

"Jen!" Wes yelled, but she never answered. She wasn't going to answer; she'd probably never talk to him again. Not after this. "Damnit!" he shouted as he slammed his fist against the wall.

James started to cry, Nadira quickly kissed him softly, calming the young boy down. "Shh it's alright. It's alright." She placed him back in his crib and handed him one of his toys to play with.

She walked over to Wes and gently placed her hand on his shoulder. "You should go after her, talk to her."

"Talk to her." Wes sighed heavily, laughing at the thought. After what had just happened, he'd be lucky if Jen ever looked at him again. He looked up to Nadira. "And say what?"

"The truth."

* * *

"Wait, you're saying Wesley Collins is still alive?" exclaimed Taylor, after Alex had gotten down to telling them what he knew, or at least part of what he had known. Now they couldn't be too sure just how much Alex might be keeping from them.

"Yes. It's a strong possibility," he answered. Not a second later he felt Lucas grab a hold of him and shove him right against the wall.

"This is bull crap, Alex! You said that Ransik killed Wes." He might not remember Wes or the friendship they once had shared, but he didn't like to be lied to, especially not in a situation like this.

"Look, the details were unclear. Dates and timeframes were unknown or forgotten." He pushed Lucas off of him and got very serious as he looked at them all. "Wes is still going to die. He may be alive right now, but Ransik _is_ going to kill him."

"But we're going to stop it, right?" announced Trip.

Katie added "And with the Mutorgs here, things could have already changed, maybe Ransik won't-"

"No," Alex interrupted her with great force and then took a second to calm himself down. "No, with the Mutorgs here, it makes things all the worse. Wes's life could be in even greater danger with them here."

"So we are going to stop him from being killed?" asked Taylor.

"I don't know." He sighed heavily. Preventing Wes's death would change history, which was something he was trained to prevent. Wes was supposed to die, by Ransik's hand, it was in all the history banks, but with the Mutorgs here and teamed up with Ransik that would change things. "Right now, we need to regroup with the other wild force rangers and make our way to Silver Hills."

* * *

Merrick was starting to grow concerned; he hadn't heard from Eric in a while. He had tried contacting him for the last hour, but only got static. _Something must have happened._ Eric had either been captured or killed, maybe both. Merrick cringed at the thought; though he and Eric hadn't exactly become friends, he didn't want him to be dead.

He ducked down behind a wall and watched as a group of six cyclobots marched past it. They seemed to be all over the place, it was as if they were preparing for an attack or searching for something. Merrick would guess both, this hadn't been the first group of cyclobots he had passed today, since he and Eric separated. He saw another group from the corner of his eye. He knew if he was going to get anywhere today he would need to have some kind of cover.

He waited until all but one passed him. _One…Two…Three…._ He jumped from behind the wall and wrapped his arms tightly around the cyclobot's head and dragged him back behind the wall. "Lights out for you…."

The group of cyclobots stopped, noticing they were missing someone, but no one was there. They waited….and they heard a sound from behind the wall. The leader cyclobot signaled for someone to go check it out, but there would be no need. The cyclobot that had lagged behind came from behind the wall to rejoin them.

_I hope this works. _Merrick, disguised as the cyclobot he had jumped, did one of the motions he had seen many of the cyclobots doing, hoping that it would work. They responded and returned the same gesture and started back on their way. _Must have worked. _Merrick knew he had two choices, either stick with them and see if they would lead him to their base of operations or wait for the right moment and take them all out and continue on his search for Jen, the pink power ranger. _Best to wait it out.

* * *

_

"Jen!" Wes yelled as he came up from underground. He had searched all over for her, but she wasn't anywhere in any of the rooms underground in the hotel barracks. "Jen, come on!" But no answer ever came. Wes sighed heavily and closed the entrance to the barracks up. He stepped outside for a moment, searching, it was nearing nightfall but she was nowhere to be seen. "Please tell me you didn't go outside."

He wanted to go out and look for her, but with the Mutorgs now being here it made it all the more dangerous, and he wasn't positive she had left. And then it dawned on him, he had the quantum morpher. Jen might not answer his call, but the morpher could help him locate where she was.

"Okay morpher, do your thing." Wes raised his wrist and pressed the tracker button. And a pink light was blinking and from what he could tell it was very close, but then he noticed four other colors: red, yellow, blue and green. They were a lot farther away, but they were there._ That's odd…_ But he pushed the thought away, right now all he wanted was to talk to Jen.

She definitely was in the hotel still. Wes walked down one of the halls with rooms left and right of him, and then he found the room where Jen had gone. He reached for the handle to open it, but it was locked. He knocked on the door. "Come on Jen, open the door. I know you're in there." No answer. "Jen please, open up. We need to talk." Still no answer came.

Wes sighed heavily, feeling helpless. He leaned his back against the wall and buried his head in his lap. Out of everything that had happened between him and Jen, this had to be the worst. In the past even when she was pissed at him, she would still talk to him, even it was just them arguing. But now, the silence was just killing him inside.

Inside the room Jen sat on the bed curled up, with tears running down her face. Nothing was the same; just as Alex had changed, so had Wes. Now everything was different. And she knew things would never be the same again.


	12. Coming Together

Wes still sat against the wall in front of the hotel room Jen had locked herself in. An hour had passed and she still hadn't opened the door or responded to any of the pleas he had made, practically begging her to let him in. He wanted to tell Jen _everything…._but there were parts he couldn't bear to tell her, thinking she wouldn't understand. Nadira seemed to be the only one he could relate that problem to. She understood.

He sighed heavily, standing up once more, to give it another try. "Jen, please, let me in. You've got to come out eventually." No answer; he was about to try again, when he heard a click on the other side of the door. He took a deep breath, knowing he had a lot of explaining to do; more than he wanted to do. But he owed it to her. Wes opened the door and came face to face with Jen, for what felt like forever. Her eyes were red from crying, no doubt because of what had happened just an hour before.

"So are you going to come in or not?" she asked, when he made no attempt to leave the door.

"In," he answered softly, as he shut the door behind him. Never had he been so afraid in all his life; right now he'd rather be facing Ransik, the Mutorgs and an army of cyclobots, than to have to face Jen and tell her the truth. Tell her everything. He took a moment pacing around the room to gather his words, trying to figure out where he should begin. So much had happened in these last several mouths. So much had changed. The way she was looking at him now proved that to be true more than anything else. "Look, Jen, I know what you're thinking-"

But he didn't have the chance to finish, because Jen in her jealous rage had a few words of her own to share with him. "What, that you're still just the pretty boy spoiled rich kid that gets what ever he wants? You would sleep with any girl that asked you to, wouldn't you!" she said harshly.

"What!" Wes exclaimed.

"Although I guess I shouldn't be surprised." She got right into his face, angry at him, angrier then she had ever been with him. "You always did have a thing for mutants. Contemptra - ring any bells? And who could forget Theresa!" She might be acting like a stupid fool at the moment, but at that exact moment she could care less.

"Contemptra….I didn't sleep with her." And almost added, _I had wanted to…_but decided it best to leave that part out, otherwise Jen might shove him through the wall. He had been under a love spell and really had no control over what he was feeling. But he did recall having a feeling in the back of his mind, not to, telling him to control himself, because there was someone else who he wanted to be in the picture.

"Oh, what about Theresa?" added Jen, continuing on in her jealous rage, as if she had lost all control of everything she was saying.

"Theresa?" Wes had to laugh at that. "I was barely alone with her five minutes, until I went to go find you."

"Still long enough. You managed to have a child in less time."

"Jen, will you listen to yourself?" exclaimed Wes; this was the second time he had seen her act like this. This time was a lot deeper than the time at the super gym where she had accused him of liking Theresa and said that it had nothing to do with being jealous of him, though part of him had always doubted that. And then it dawned on him, _James._ Wes mentally kicked himself in the head, now seeing where Jen had been going with this. "You think that James is my and Nadira's baby?"

"Oh, what would ever give me that idea, _Daddy?_"

"Jen, he's not mine." He grabbed Jen's arms. "Not exactly…"

Jen angrily shoved her arms away from him. "What the hell is that supposed to me? _Not exactly …_"

"It's complicated," he answered softly, with a hint of grief in his voice.

Jen ignored the grieving look on his face, as she continued on in her blind rage. "More complicated than you and Nadira?" she stammered.

"Jen, I'm not with Nadira. I don't love her!" he roared, hoping that his voice would out ring hers and make her stop and listen for just one minute. One minute was all he needed, but this wasn't exactly the way he pictured himself telling her this. Telling her how he really felt.

Her face froze and she was dead still, as his words played over in her mind. _I don't love her. _"What…" was all she could get out in a soft spoken voice.

"Because I love you!" He stopped and stared at her face, watching as tears sparkled in her eyes, watching as the anger seemed to wither away. "I love you, Jen," he cried, feeling his own eyes stinging with his own tears, feeling exhaustion overwhelm him because of the whole ordeal Jen and he had just gone through.

"You love me?" she choked, now really feeling foolish because of what she had been saying to him. Eric had said Wes loved her, but hearing it come from Wes made it all the more real.

"Yeah….Yeah I do."

"I love you, too."

Wes smiled and gently stroked her cheek, wiping away one of her falling tears. "Good. I was hoping you did." He leaned closer to her, his lips almost touching hers. "So I could do this." He looked into her eyes, watching her smile back at him and then he kissed her gently on the lips. The kiss was everything he hoped it would be, and more. "Oh Jen…" He wrapped his arms tightly around her, not wanting it to be over.

Jen followed his lead and wrapped her arms around him, deepening the kiss, needing to be close to him. The passion and love the two had held back for so long was racing out like a raging fire. "Lock the door…" Jen whispered in-between kisses.

"I think I can manage that," answered Wes as he returned her kisses. He slowly drew apart from her and quickly locked the door and made his way back over to her. "Now where were we?"

"Right about…." Jen raised her hands up to draw him closer. "Here…." She leaned in and kissed him passionately on the lips.

* * *

Eric was chained against a column, hands behind his back. It had been hours since he had been captured. His face was covered with bruises and his shirt ripped apart; they had tried to get information out of him, but he didn't dare say a word. He couldn't let them know other rangers were coming, although he suspected that the Mutorgs were quite aware of the wild force rangers they had had an encounter with in Turtle Cove.

"Thirsty, ranger?" asked Rofang, as he approached him with a glass of water. He snickered, as he moved the glass closer to Eric's mouth and then splashed it against his face. "Foolish human, your end is near."

"For your sake, you better hope you're right," hissed Eric. "Because if it weren't for these chains, I'd kill you right here and now; with my own bare hands I'd put an end to you, pathetic worthless piece of shit!" Rofang slapped Eric across his face, cutting his lip in the process. Eric spat out the blood and looked up at Rofang all wise-assed. "Is that the best you can do?"

Rofang was about to strike him again, when Takach stopped him. "Rofang, stop meddling with the human and come over here, we have more important things to deal with than his pathetic life."

"You're safe for now, but mark my words, when the time comes I will do what should have been done hours ago," hissed Rofang, as he walked over to join his brothers.

"I'll be waiting," said Eric, as he watched Rofang and the others move into the darkest shadows away from Ransik, who was off in the corner sharpening his sword. He couldn't read lips nor understand the language in which they were speaking, but from what he could gather whatever they were discussing wasn't for Ransik's ears. The former quantum ranger could only guess just why. And he'd be putting his money on the fact that the Mutorgs weren't planning on staying loyal to Ransik for long. Just long enough, until what they needed to be done was done, which could be something he could use to his advantage when the moment showed itself.

An army of cyclobots returned back to the base. A number of them went over to Ransik and gathered around him, but one cyclobot made his way over to Eric, and was acting rather out of character compared to any of the cyclobots he had ever run across. This cyclobot was looking right and left, as if looking to see if anyone was watching him, as he walked right up to Eric.

Eric waited, as if expecting to be struck across the face or punched in the gut, like he had already been numerous times throughout the hours he had been here, but this cyclobot just stared into his face. And then it occurred to Eric that this cyclobot meant no harm to him, which could only mean... "Merrick?" he whispered as low as he could.

The cyclobot nodded his head in response.

Eric glanced around, making sure no one was watching. The mutorgs were too preoccupied in their discussion to notice, and an army of cyclobots blocked Ransik's view. "It's too risky. You need to get out of here and get help."

"I can't just leave you here, they'll kill you," Merrick replied, keeping his voice low.

"They'll kill both of us if you don't get the hell out of here." Eric could see Ransik start to emerge from the crowded army of cyclobots heading their way. "You know where their base is, you can bring the others here. It's the only way."

"Hey you! What are you doing over there?" roared Ransik.

Merrick looked over at Ransik and then glanced at Eric. "I will be back," he whispered. Merrick, posing as a cyclobot, made his way over to Ransik, in the movements of the cyclobots he had observed since he had joined hours ago.

"What were you doing over there with the human?" Ransik shoved the robot and walked on past him. "Stupid robot! Just go outside, you're on night call."

He nodded his head and watched as Ransik moved into a back room. Merrick once more glanced over at Eric, knowing that there was a possibility that when he returned that Eric might no longer be alive. _Be safe, my friend._ He turned and ran outside and continued on in his search for Jen, one thing was for sure they didn't have her, which meant she was elsewhere. He also knew he needed to make contact with his teammates, but only when he was sure the coast was clear.

* * *

"We should have done this a long time ago," exclaimed Jen.

Wes grinned. "Oh yeah, the Clock Tower was way more romantic, especially with Katie, Lucas and Trip watching somewhere off in the corner," he joked. They lay on the bed, Jen laying her head on his chest, with the covers over their bodies. The memory of what had just happened flowed vividly through their minds.

Jen traced her finger against his chest, before taking his hand into hers. "Sorry about earlier, for jumping to conclusions," said Jen, knowing that she had been a fool for saying the things she had.

"I think I can forgive you," grinned Wes as he brought her hand up and kissed it gently. "Besides, I always found you very attractive when you're angry." He brought her hand down and felt as she traced her finger around his neck, going all the way over to his right shoulder. She gently brushed her fingers against the battle scar that had been left by Ransik's sword.

"Does it hurt?" She didn't know how he had gotten it, but she could only guess that Ransik was somehow connected.

Wes didn't answer at first, as if his mind had drifted elsewhere. It had been deadly painful; it would be a pain he would never be able to forget. The pain of Ransik striking him and pulling the sword out of his flesh and the burning sensation he had felt as Nadira tended to the wound with the limited resources she could find. He recalled her telling him that he was lucky to be alive.

"Wes…"

"No, not anymore," he answered softly.

A few moments of silence passed between them. Jen sighed heavily; she didn't want to ruin the moment, but there were some things she still didn't know and wanted to know. Things only Wes would be able to tell her. "Wes…" she started, as she leaned up slightly, so she could be within eye level of him. "Why?" She could still see her and the others in the time ship, moving farther and farther away from Wes. "Why'd you send me and the others back? Why have you've been hiding all this time?" She wanted to know why he hadn't left Silver Hills or made any attempt to get in touch with anyone. It might have been too dangerous for the Silver Guardians that remained here to make a run for it, but Wes with the quantum morpher stood a chance.

Wes didn't answer. And it wasn't because he didn't know the answers. He knew them all too well, better than he wanted to. And as much as he knew he owed Jen the answers, he just wasn't ready to let her in on them. "Can we just lie here a while longer?"

The sound of his voice frightened her and she could feel his heartbeat start to rise. Wes was scared, more scared than she ever thought he could be. Whatever had happened must have affected him more then she thought possible.

"Please…" he pleaded. He was near tears, staring her right in the eyes. He was practically begging her to drop the subject.

It was heartbreaking to watch. What had happened to the fun-loving, immature Wes she had known? Knowing he needed her to be strong right now, to hold him, to love him, to let him know that everything was going to be okay, "It's okay." She kissed him gently on the lips. "We don't need to talk about that right now." She rested her head back on top of him again and wrapped her arms around him, holding him close, hoping that the strength and touch of her arms would take whatever fear he had away.

Wes lay there, letting Jen take care of him, but knew no matter what she did, no amount of her love or caring for him, would take away what he was feeling now. He wasn't even sure if he could ever even begin to tell her. He feared she would never understand, maybe even resent him. He hated himself for what had happened. Some nights he even wished he were dead.

He watched as Jen slowly closed her eyes, falling into a deep sleep. She was so beautiful. He loved her so much, more than anything in the entire world. And she returned that love, with even greater strength, but all he could think of right now was: _I don't deserve this…..not after what I've done….not after how many lives were lost, because of me…_


	13. Inner Demons

Alex and the others had regrouped with the other rangers and now were resting on the Animarium. It would be a long day tomorrow, after which they might not live to see another. They needed all the rest they could get. The fate of the world rested on their shoulders.

Alex had wandered off a little ways from his team and new friends. He was tired, but couldn't sleep. He had too much on his mind right now and couldn't seem to find a way to sleep. Jen concerned him the most, though he knew she was safe and probably well taken care of. He feared the worst of what could and probably would come out of it. And then there was the thing about Wes and what would happen to him, maybe even worse this time. Right now he didn't know what to do or how to deal with what was in Wes's future. Should he prevent Wes's death, or let history take its course?

He knew what Time Force would want. What Captain Logan and all the other officials would want. Wes was supposed to die, that was his future…. Alex sighed heavily, not sure what he was supposed to do. Either way, Jen's heart still would be broken.

"You look like you have a lot on your mind."

Alex turned and found Cole standing over his shoulder. Another red ranger like himself, one he recalled studying about years ago, back at the Academy, but it had only been myths, then…. "Yeah. Tomorrow's going to be a long day."

"You're worried," Cole stated. He couldn't quite pick up on what Alex was feeling. It was as if this man from the future was somehow able to block anyone from reading him. But one thing was very visible to him. Alex looked scared, more scared than anyone would have ever thought possible.

Alex didn't answer, not wanting to admit he was scared. He was the leader. He was supposed to be strong, but now he was finding himself having a hard time holding onto the strength he once had. The future was in his hands; any slight mistake could alter the timeline. "It's late, you should get your rest."

"So should you," answered Cole, gripping Alex's shoulder and giving him a comforting smile.

"I will, in a minute," he answered. "You go on ahead." Alex watched as Cole departed and rejoined the others who were lying around the warm fire. They all looked so peaceful lying there; unaware of what was ahead of them. He turned his attention towards the night sky, covered with bright stars and the moon shining down on them, giving them hope for tomorrow, but right now the only thing he found himself hoping for was that in this short amount of time Jen might have found the happiness she had been looking for, even if it was just for tonight.

* * *

Wes opened his eyes, unable to fall asleep, as hard as he tried sleep would never come. He couldn't get past all the screams of horror that echoed in his sleep, the darkness, the burning fire, death in every corner. It was his nightmare. His curse. A weight that he knew would never leave him.

He felt Jen sleeping peacefully by his side. She was so beautiful, he thought. This had been the very thing he had been wishing for. All he had ever wanted was to be with Jen and not have Alex's ghost looming in the shadows. And now that he had her, all he could think about was: _I don't deserve her…._ Wes sighed heavily as he pulled the covers off of him. He bent down and put his boxers and pants back on. Before he left the bedside he pulled the covers closer around Jen, not wanting her to get cold. He kissed her gently on the forehead and headed into the bathroom.

He flipped on the switch, but only a faint blinking light turned on, not giving much hope for it to stay on for long. Wes walked up to the sink, turned it on and splashed water onto his face. He looked into the mirror in front of him, but the reflection showed a man he no longer recognized or knew. It was someone else. Someone he hated and was disgusted with. The more he looked in the mirror the more angry he got. Fury and rage burned into his eyes.

_'It's your fault…. Thousands are dead because of you… How does that make you feel, Collins? To know you're responsible for the havoc and death of the city you swore to protect? Huh? Huh…?' _

"Shut up! Shut up!" Wes yelled, and punched his fist into the mirror as hard as he could, shattering it. He didn't move. He didn't say another word. He just stood there staring at the broken mirror and letting his now-cut hand bleed, like it didn't even hurt. And not a second later, he felt a gentle smooth hand grab hold of his wrist and gently run it under the faucet, letting the cool water run over it.

Jen didn't even say a word as she gently pulled the pieces of the broken mirror out of Wes's hand. She didn't know what had shaken him up or caused him to get so angry and lash out at the mirror, but part of her knew. Whatever it was, it was bad. So bad that she wasn't sure if it was something she could even fix. After all the pieces were taken out of his hand, she led him back to the bed, where she then ripped off a piece of the sheet to tie around his hand.

He looked up to meet her eyes. They were full of concern for him and of deep love. She wanted to know what was wrong. What he was keeping form her? She deserved the truth, but he would never be able to find the words. You can't just come out and tell someone something like this. He was afraid that if he told her the truth, that maybe she would hate him, be angry with him, so angry that she might not love him anymore. "Sorry I woke you up," he said.

Wasn't quite what she wanted to hear, sighed Jen. "Wes, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." He turned away, not wanting to lie to her face. "Everything's fine."

But Jen knew better. She wasn't about to give up. Wes might have said he needed more time, but she had a feeling time wasn't on their side, and with them needing to stop Ransik and the three Mutorgs she knew Wes needed to be focused. And right now he was anything but focused. Something was tearing him up inside and she couldn't understand what could be so bad that he wouldn't talk to her. They used to be able to tell each other anything. "No, it's not, Wes." She raised her hands and gently moved his head back so she was face to face with him, looking into his deep blue eyes. "Everything's not all right." It was just breaking her up inside, that the man she loved more than anything in the world wouldn't let her in. "Please; tell me what's going on?"

"I can't," he choked. He turned away, this time his whole body, not wanting to break down in tears in front of her. And he knew if he told her the truth, things would only get worse than they already were.

"Why?" she pleaded, as she gently placed her hand on his shoulder. "Is it Nadira?"

_If only it were that simple._ "No…" he answered.

* * *

It had been a while since Merrick had left Eric still in Ransik's grasp. He didn't like having to leave Eric behind, but knew his new friend was right. They would have been outnumbered greatly and would have been overpowered, then likely killed. Right now Merrick knew the best thing for him to do was to find Jen and try to get in touch with the others.

He had a feeling they had little time, it seemed as if Ransik and the creatures were planning something. Something big. Something that even with all their powers combined they might not be able to stop. _No, I can't think like that. _Merrick knew if he kept on thinking the worst, that would more than likely be the result. He needed to stay focused and remain positive.

Merrick hastened his pace, using his highly skilled arts of searching; tracking down what was missing. He knew he was on the right track of locating Jen, but certain areas kept on throwing him off. The demolished clock tower being one of them, but he had also found traces of two others that had been with her. There had been some sort of battle against the three creatures he believed, but one thing was for sure, no one had perished. So he had left the clock tower and continued in the search until he came to a dead end.

It was a hotel from the looks of it. Dark and gloomy, eerie almost, it didn't seem like anyone could be here. But this was where the trail ended. She had to be here. Somewhere. Merrick stepped inside, looking around, but only seeing dark halls that led into more halls. "Hello. Is anyone here?" he called out, but no answers came. He started moving around, walking the floor carefully, as if trying to envision her footsteps. And that's when he noticed something odd about part of the floor, different from the rest.

He walked over it a few more times just to be sure. And sure enough, something was different. He bent down and felt around for some kind of latch; it was dark and difficult to see, but his hand managed to find it. "I knew it!" Merrick pulled the latch and lifted the piece of board, which revealed a staircase. "Okay Jen, let's hope you're down here." Merrick went down the staircase pulling the board down with him.

It was an underground garage of some type, probably had at one time been a place to hide people. Merrick didn't know much about this time period, he had been asleep for many years. Earth no longer felt familiar to him, even the Animarium no longer felt like home. It was just too hard. Everyone he had ever known was dead, his family, his friends. The only reminder of the home he once had was Princess Shayla, but it was complicated. Though the Orders no longer stood he was still her protector, but once upon a time, a long time ago, he had been so much more. Something he knew they both still wanted, but would never be able to have again. No matter how much they felt about each other.

Merrick walked through the dark halls getting his thoughts back to his search and the mission. One thing was for sure, as he walked through trying to make out the area, people had been staying down here, perhaps for a while now.

"Hey you, stop right there!"

Merrick turned around and found himself face to face with a man not much older than he was. The man wore the same kind of uniform Eric had been wearing and was pointing a blaster gun right at him. "You're a Silver Guardian."

"That's right," he answered and then motioned for two of the other Silver Guardians to join him. "Now," They all raised their blasters, not taking their eyes off of Merrick. "Who the hell are you?"

"My name is Merrick. I'm a friend."

"Yeah. I'll be the judge of that." He then told the other two to grab a hold of Merrick, not sure whether they should trust him or not. These days, you could never be too careful.

Merrick could sense the fear in all of them. They no longer could tell friend from foe, as if danger was just around the corner for them. "It's the truth. I'm a power ranger; I've come to help."

"No." He shook his head. "I don't think so. I've seen the other rangers. You don't look like any one of them."

"That's because I'm from a different team of rangers."

He got right into Merrick's face, looking him hard in the eyes. "Yeah. Why should I believe a word you say? For all I know you could be one of Ransik's goons in disguise."

"Because I know your Commander." Merrick looked him back, knowing the only way to gain any trust from them was to get them to believe him. "Eric Myers."

A pin dropping could be have been heard in the room, if one had fallen. It had gotten that silent. The three Silver Guardians were speechless. It had been several months since any of them had seen Eric. Some of them had even believed he might have died, due to what Wes had told them about the last time he had seen Eric. The Guardian in charge bit his lip and eyed Merrick carefully. "Alright, you got my attention. What else have you got?"

"Eric and I came here searching for the pink ranger. I believe her name is Jen." Merrick knew Jen was here, or at least at one point she had been here.

"Hey isn't that-"

"Quiet, Parker!" exclaimed the Guardian in charge; he still wasn't sure if they could trust Merrick. He needed to be sure, so he reached for his radio. "Alright, ranger-boy, if you're such _good_ pals with Commander Myers, then perhaps we have someone here who can tell us who you are."

Merrick knew he could take on all of them if he wanted to, but that wouldn't help matters in gaining their trust. Even if he were to morph, it probably wouldn't make much of a difference, not after what they all had been through. So he stood there waiting, hoping that whoever this person was, that he could gain their trust.

* * *

"Wes, please talk to me." Jen came around from the bed and sat down right next to him, wrapping her arms around him, holding him close to her body. "Tell me what's wrong."

Wes looked into her loving eyes; they were reaching out to him, wanting to help him through whatever he was going through. But nothing could ever fix or undo what had happened. Nothing would ever be the same again. "I can't." He bowed his head down, hating every moment of this. Why did she have to love him so much? …..Why did he have to love her so much? That had been the cause of everything that had happened, but he couldn't bear to tell Jen that. It would break her heart, just as it had broken his, a thousand times over.

"Wes." Jen gently stroked his cheek. It was heartbreaking to see him in this kind of state. She wished she could just go back to a couple of hours ago, back when everything had been perfect with them, holding each other, loving each other, like nothing else mattered, but now that seemed like a lifetime ago.

Wes looked up and met her eyes. He felt drawn to her, as she leaned forward and he met her halfway. In the moment their lips met, everything seemed okay, as they kissed and held each other tight, but it was only a moment…..

"Wes, I love you. I want to help you, but you need to tell me what's wrong."

_"Commander Collins, come in."_

Wes stood up and walked over to the dresser where he had set his radio. He gave Jen a loving, but faint smile as if some kind of distance had been put between them. "I read you, go ahead."

_"Sir, I'm sorry to disturb you, but we just caught this man in the bunkers. He's claims to know Commander Myers, and says he's looking for the pink ranger, sir."_

Wes felt his heart almost skip a beat, not sure whether it was fear of whoever this man was or relief that Eric might be alive; maybe it was both. He looked right at Jen. "Did anyone come with you?"

"No. I've been alone on this mission." Jen stood up from the bed slightly concerned, and decided it probably would be a good idea for her to finish getting dressed. She started to grab the remainder of her clothes that lay around the floor. Had Time Force sent someone after her?

"Did he say anything else?" Wes asked, speaking into the radio.

_"Yes. He says he's a power ranger, but I don't recognize him as being one of the others."_

Wes and Jen shared a glance at each other, both knowing the things they were dealing with would have to be put on hold. Right now they needed to figure out who this stranger was. "Alright, we'll be down in a few minutes."

_"Roger that, sir. We'll be waiting." _

A few minutes later Wes and Jen were back underground and met up with one of the Silver Guardians and the intruder known as Merrick. They entered a room that appeared to have at one time been a small office or study room. Merrick sat in a chair with the Silver Guardian that had caught him roaming around standing by his side.

"Commander Collins, this is him," announced the guardian, as he greeted both Wes and Jen.

"Thank you, Hank." Wes eyed Merrick and then turned back to Hank. "I got it from here."

"Right sir, I'll be outside if you need me." Hank then left the room and closed the door behind him.

"Collins?" exclaimed Merrick, looking at Wes questioningly. The only Collins he knew of was Wesley Collins and he had been told that man was dead. "You're not Wesley Collins, are you?"

Wes looked at Jen, seeing if she recognized Merrick, but she shook her head. He turned back to Merrick. "Why do you ask?"

"I was told that he was dead….." Merrick waited. He wasn't positive, but he would be willing to bet his life that the man before him was in fact Wesley Collins. "By Eric Myers." He waited another moment. He was good at picking up things about people, being able to read them. "You are him."

Wes stepped forward, still not sure whether he could trust Merrick. "Who are you?"

"My name's Merrick Baliton, I came from Turtle Cove." Merrick then reached into his jacket pocket, but did it slowly, noticing that Wes was very jumpy. "And the lunar wolf ranger."

Now Jen had his attention; she walked up right next to Wes. "Lunar wolf? You're one of the Wild Force rangers, but I was told that they were only a myth."

"You must be Jen. I've been looking for you." Merrick eyed her, he could tell right away she was a strong and very determined woman, maybe even more so than Taylor.

"And why's that?" asked Wes, moving in front of Jen in a protective sort of way. Merrick might be a power ranger, but he still didn't know enough about him to trust him just yet.

"That's a long story."

"We've got the time." Wes crossed his arms against his chest.

"I'm afraid we don't. Not unless you want Eric Myers to die," announced Merrick. Time was just something they did not have, not with Eric's life on the line. Wes and Jen shared a concerned glance, both of them sensing things were only going to get worse from here on out.


	14. Darkest Hour

"What are you talking about?" asked Wes, almost afraid to ask. Things were bad enough as they were. He didn't need any more…..

"Wait a minute," Jen stepped around from Wes so she was face to face with Merrick. "I just saw Eric a couple of days ago."

"I know," he answered, giving her a look like he knew what had happened between her and Eric. "He and I left to find you, which led us here, but along the way we decided to split up." Merrick knew he would have to explain things carefully; while he knew that Jen appeared to trust him, he wasn't so sure Wes did. Something was very different about him. He did not seem to be the man Eric had told him about. Something had changed. "Eric was captured. I later disguised myself as a cyclobot and found the location where Ransik and the Mutorgs are hiding."

"Ransik and the Mutorgs are working together?" exclaimed Jen.

"Yes, it appears that way."

"And you just left him there!" yelled Wes. He looked as though he was about to knock Merrick out of the chair, but Jen quickly grabbed a hold of him and pulled him back.

"Take it easy Wes, Merrick's on our side."

"Yeah." Wes looked at Merrick, as if he were disgusted with him. "Has a hell of a way showing it," announced Wes coldly.

"Wes, what's gotten into you?" Now Jen really was getting concerned, this wasn't like Wes. He would never lash out at anyone like that. Now she really wanted to know what was wrong with him. What he was keeping from her and why he wouldn't just tell her. "I'm sure Merrick has a perfectly good reason as to why he left Eric there."

"He better…" Wes looked right at Merrick, and if Merrick hadn't been the kind of man he was, Wes's intense ice cold glare would have sent shivers down his back.

"I wanted to get him out of there, but Eric refused. There were too many. We wouldn't have gotten out alive." Merrick kept his cool, not wanting to push any more buttons of Wes's, who looked like he could blow any second.

"That does sound like Eric," answered Jen. She gently placed her hand on Wes's shoulder, squeezing it gently. "Doesn't it, Wes?"

"Yeah," answered Wes coolly.

* * *

Though he was growing tired and getting weaker by the moment, Eric knew he had to hold it together a little longer. He had been trained for situations such as this one and had passed with flying colors, although the Army never prepared with such creatures as the ones before him. Ransik, a self-centered mutant whose only purpose was to destroy all humans - and then the three creatures, with plans of their own in store. But either way Eric knew he could assume that humans weren't going to be part of whatever world they were trying to create.

But how long before they found him no longer useful? Would he still be alive by the time Merrick arrived with help? And even if he was, would they be enough to defeat both Ransik and the Mutorgs, while fighting against an army of cyclobots? It seemed more than what they could handle. It wasn't like him to question such things. Before, it was either do or die, at least until that day….._that one day._ It was the day that changed everything. The day death stared him right in the face. The day darkness covered the city that he'd fought to protect.

Enough blood had already been shed. He knew if he could he would blow this whole building up, taking his life with it, if he had to. No one else should have to die…

"Feeling gloomy, human?" Ransik got right into Eric's face, breathing his hot and bitter breath into his face. "Don't worry. It won't be much longer. I promise to make your death swift and quick," he smirked. "Unlike your _friend…_"

Anger and rage flowed right through Eric's body, but he had to keep his cool. He needed to figure something out, just in case help didn't arrive. He looked over to where the mutorgs were gathered around each other resting and talking silently amongst each other. "If I were you I'd be more concerned who I'm in alliance with, and whether they can be trusted."

Ransik snickered and leaned closer to Eric. Out of all the humans he had been faced with, Eric was the one that had always stuck out in his mind, for many reasons. "You and I are not that different."

"I find that hard to believe." Eric looked him square in the eyes. "You and I are _nothing_ alike!"

Ransik laughed. "Oh really? Why was it again that you made an alliance with the other rangers? Tell me you had no ulterior motives?"

And as hard as he tried he couldn't for the life with him come up with an answer to say that wasn't true. He'd had motives. He had wanted to have the kind of power they had and once he had gotten it…..but that was before...

"You see, we are alike," hissed Ransik.

Eric shook his head. "No. Maybe I was, but that was before I learned what being part of a team is all about." He looked Ransik hard in the eyes. "And that's what separates me from _you_ and from them."

"Too bad, we could have used someone like you on our team."

Eric smirked. "And since when are you a team player? Last time I checked, Frax was dead and I don't see your daughter Nadira anywhere." Eric didn't know what had become of Nadira, last he knew she was alive, many of the Guardians had told him that they had seen her running around, but she appeared not to be herself. "What, she decided that she didn't like being on Daddy's team anymore? Too bad, maybe if she was still around, maybe then I would have joined. She was kind of cute."

Angrily, Ransik slashed Eric across the face for his smart remark, but it didn't even faze Eric. And Ransik knew it. Eric was tough and would take any blow thrown at him. He couldn't get to him, not like he had been able to get at the other rangers. He knew where their breaking points were. "Just a few more hours and then you'll be out of my hair."

"Why not just get it over with now?"

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Ransik snickered and blew his hot breath into Eric's face. "But then, what would your friend come back here for…."

Eric felt his heart skip a beat. _Merrick…._ How had Ransik known? Even he hadn't known it was Merrick at first.

"That's right. I knew it was him all along. He may have acted like a cyclobot, but he didn't play the part well enough. He didn't fool me." Ransik pulled out his sword and began sharpening it. "And here's the best part: I sent one of my top cyclobots to follow him…." A wide grin covered Ransik's face. "And where do you suppose he'll lead them to?"

Anger and fury rushed through Eric's veins. He struggled to get free, but couldn't.

* * *

"Wes, I want to go with you," pleaded Jen, as she watched as Wes got ready. He was making sure his Silver Guardian blaster was fully loaded and clipped it onto his belt.

"No. Merrick and I can handle it. If we need help, you'll be the first person we'll contact," answered Wes. Just moments ago he had pretty much ordered Merrick to show him to the location where Ransik was keeping Eric.

"But Wes…." Jen started, knowing very well this was too much for Merrick and Wes to handle all on their own. Even Merrick had seemed to agree. He did not want to return to the location, not without the rest of his teammates, but for someone reason Wes wouldn't listen to reason. Jen couldn't decide whether he just didn't trust Merrick or whether it had something to do with the way he had been acting. It probably was a little of both.

"No buts." Wes turned to her and kissed her gently on the cheek, and gave her a warm smile. "You just stay here with the Guardians; get something to eat." Wes caught a glimpse of Merrick, heading right towards them. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," answered Merrick coolly. He didn't like this one bit, something was wrong here. He could feel it. "But I don't like this. We should wait for the others to arrive."

"And you haven't been able to get in contact with them," Wes reminded him. Merrick had been trying for the last half hour to get in touch with the other Wild Force rangers, but was unable to. "We're leaving."

Merrick saw it was useless trying to reason with Wes, and a look from Jen told him that this wasn't at all like Wes. "Fine. We'll do things your way." Merrick bid fare-well to Jen and gave her a nod, letting her know he'd keep an eye on Wes, and if necessary take matters into his own hands - which from the looks of things just might happen.

* * *

Jen made her way into a small storage room where all the food was stored. Most of it was canned goods, and an assortment of powdered milk boxes, dry cereal, dry fruits and a few boxes of fruit which didn't look too appetizing, but if someone was hungry enough…. Jen decided that a box of dry cereal looked to be the only safe thing to eat, even if it was stale at least she could tolerate it.

She sat down and started eating it. It wasn't until then that she realized how hungry she really was. It had been a while since she last ate, with everything that had happened food had been the last thing on her mind. But even now food still was the furthest thing from her mind, no matter how hungry she felt. Right now her mind was on Wes. The way he had been acting, ever since they had made love; but that couldn't be what started his strange behavior. He had been acting strange even beforehand. Jen continued to ponder the situation with Wes, when Nadira came in.

"Oh I didn't know you were in here," Nadira came to a dead stop, not knowing whether she should stay right where she stood or turn around and leave. "I'll leave if you want."

"No, you can stay." She might not totally trust Nadira, but Wes did. And if Wes trusted Nadira as much as he said he did, perhaps Nadira might know what was going on with Wes and why he wasn't quite himself. "Not that there's anything really appealing to eat."

Nadira smiled faintly and grabbed a can of food, and sat a little ways from Jen. She was right across from her but gave Jen enough space, just in case she wanted to be left alone. "You get used to it after a while."

A few moments of silence passed and Jen continued to eat. Jen knew she would have to make the first move to get this conversation started, knowing that in their past conversation she had made it perfectly clear she wanted nothing to do with Nadira. "So where's James?"

Nadira was a little startled. She hadn't been expecting for Jen to start up a conversation with her, but she wasn't about to back down from one. A lot of things needed to be said. Perhaps in time Jen would begin to trust her, just as Wes and the Guardians here had. "He's sleeping." Nadira smiled faintly, but then she added quickly. "Wes isn't his father."

"I know."

"I'm not his mother."

"What do you mean? He's really taken with you."

"Wes didn't tell you, did he?"

"Tell me what?" Now Jen was starting to get concerned. The look on Nadira's face was very concerned. Something very bad must have happened, so bad that it even brought Nadira near tears. "You know what's wrong with him, don't you?" And now Jen was beginning to wonder if she even wanted to know what had happened to Wes.

No words were said at first, as Nadira bowed her head down, sighing and putting her can of food to the side, no longer hungry. She had tried to help Wes through his pain, his guilt, _his curse_, as he called it. And at first he had allowed her to help him, but then he drew away from her help. When Jen showed up, she had hoped that Wes would confide in her. She knew how much he loved Jen and felt that because of that, he would let Jen get him through this. But the look on Jen's face told her she had been wrong. "Wes hasn't been sleeping."

"At all?"

"No. Not since he recovered from his injuries, after that was when things began to fall apart." Jen sat there motionless, listening to every word that Nadira spoke, as the nightmare became a reality. "He was a complete wreck when he learned what had happened and when he saw it with his own eyes……"

_It was a nightmare; all he wanted was to wake up. …..but this was no nightmare, this was for real. The once proud city he had grown up in was no more. Darkness covered the city and dead bodies covered the grounds. People had died. Not everyone had made it out alive. It was sickening to his stomach and brought tears to his eyes, because there were not just bodies of dead Silver Guardians, but whole families, children. At that moment all he wanted was to die right there, that very moment he wanted his life to be over. "They're all dead, because of me…."_

_\He had been the one that sent the others back in time, to prevent their deaths, as their deaths. It had been what the messenger said to do. It had been what he had said to do, but now he was beginning to wonder if their ever really had been a message from him in the future. During the battle he never did find anyway that would have caused him to contact himself in the past. Maybe it all had just been another dream, like the one before, which made this all the more worst._

_What if the others had been here? Could they have saved more lives had they been here? He would never know, but he knew he would always wonder. Wes dropped tos his knees crying out loudly in his pain and torment, a pain that he knew would never go away. He was a power ranger, it was his duty to protect the city, the protect the people, but instead…. "I failed……"_

Tears covered Jen's eyes and they rolled down her cheek. It was worse than she ever could imagine and Nadira wasn't finished. "Some of the Silver Guardians resented him. They hated him, they were so angry when they learned he had sent you and the others back. They blamed him for everything that happened…."

"But he's working with them fine now. Right?" Jen choked. She had seen him working with the Guardians; they even referred to him as their commander.

Nadira bit her lip and sighed heavily. Even now it still haunted her in her sleep, the horror, the blood, and the screams. It would be a day she would never be able to forget. It was a day she wished she could erase from her memory. "They're no longer with us…."

"Wh-what do you mean?" But all the while she could see where this was headed. It was headed into a direction she never thought would ever be possible, but given the situation; it was only a matter of time. "They left, right...?" Jen was sobbing now. "Tell me they left…"

_If only….._ But unfortunately things hadn't gone that way, six of the Silver Guardians turned on him and started attacking him…

_"You bastard! This is your fault!" roared the Guardian leading the rampage as he pounded a fist into Wes's already reddened face, knocking Wes to the ground. Due to the injures he had withstood from Ransik weeks before, he wasn't able to move fast enough as he felt several booted kicks pounding into his body._

_Wes didn't even fight back, as if he somehow felt he deserved it. Two of the other Guardians picked him up and held him tight, not letting him loose, as they let their leader pound his fists into Wes's chest. "Come on, ranger, fight back like a man!" He threw a hard right into Wes' nose._

_"Kane!" It was one of the Guardians that had been standing back along with the other group who had chosen not to partake in the beating of Wes Collins. "Stop it, that's enough!"_

_"Shut up, Jenson! He hasn't learned his lesson yet." Kane continued to punch Wes, while his gang held him up. "He needs to pay for all the deaths. All the lives that were lost…." Kane was more than just angry, he was furious to the point where he was like a raging storm. "He need's to pay for what happened to my wife and my unborn child!" His wife and child both had perished. She had died right in his arms, and now knowing the truth. And knowing that somehow her death could have been prevented. Made him the all more angrier with Wes, because it was his fault._

_"No! He's had enough!" roared Jensen as he grabbed Kane by the shoulder, forcing him to turn around. "It's not even a fair fight." _

_"It's not fair!" Kane's eyes widened. "Do you think it was fair, what happened?" He shoved Jensen back a few feet and got right into his face. "Do you think it was fair that the city was demolished? Do you think it was fair that both my wife and unborn child were killed?"_

_Jensen stood frozen, not knowing how to answer. That very question scared him more then anything. It had been the one thing they all had been pondering for weeks, watching as Wes slowly recovered and learned the truth, bit by bit. He looked over, Kane's shoulder and watched as the four Guardians that had joined Kane continued to mock and beat Wes. He sighed heavily and his eyes softened. "The guilt he has to live with for the rest of his life is enough. He doesn't need you to be both judge and jury."_

_Kane couldn't believe it. He shook his head in disbelief and pushed Jensen to the side and got face to face with the other Guardians that had just been standing around. "Is that how the rest of you feel? Huh…is it?" None of them answered, most of them bowed their heads or turned away. They were afraid, not knowing what to do. "You guys are nothing but a bunch of sorry losers!"_

"_Leave them alone….." Wes announced as loud as he could._

_Kane rolled up his sleeves and started back towards Wes, fully intending to finish the job. "I don't remember asking for your say in the matter!" He pounded his fist into Wes's gut._

_The pain was intense, every bone in his body ached. He took slow breaths and raised his head as high as he could to look Kane right in the eye. "Your fight's not with them. It's with me….don't take it out on them." Wes coughed out some blood and his lips were bright red. "They didn't do anything wrong…."_

_Kane's eyes widened. "At least we agree on one thing." Kane eyed the two holding Wes. "Let him go. I want a real fight."_

_As soon as they let Wes go, Wes's feet gave way and he dropped to the ground, barely moving. "Get up and fight," ordered one of them._

"_Stop this! Stop this at once!" cried Nadira as she ran towards them; she had been busy putting James to bed when she came in and saw all the commotion. "You're going to kill him!"_

"_That's the idea!" barked Kane like a madman, as he turned towards Nadira and pointed his blaster right at her. "And don't think for a second I won't use this on you either. You may have saved my life, but I don't owe you one damn thing. Because you're just as much to blame as he is."_

_Nadira didn't know what to do, she felt helpless, watching as Wes struggled to stand up. The other Guardians just stood around as if lost in a trance, not knowing what to do, each in their own struggle and torment whether or not to turn against one of their own. _

"_Morph and fight me, you pathetic excuse for a power ranger!"_

_Wes tried to get up, but couldn't find the strength or the will to do so. Nothing mattered anymore…. Jen and the others were gone…. The city had been destroyed…. Thousands had died, because of him…. He could never face his father or Eric again….. Maybe things would be better if Kane did just kill him…_

"_Morph!" ordered Kane._

"_I can't…."_

"_What? Is that against the ranger code?" mocked Kane._

_Though it was, that wasn't the reason he didn't morph. Wes slowly pushed himself up, just barely. He was trapped inside a circle that the five Guardians had created. "I don't have my morpher anymore….. It got destroyed, in the fight with Ransik…"_

"_Yeah. Then what the hell is that!" Kane pointed to the morpher Wes wore around his wrist._

_Wes slowly raised it, almost forgetting that it had been there all along, not that it mattered. "It's not mine. This is Eric's morpher…."_

"_So you killed Commander Myers, too?" _

"_I didn't kill him!" Wes roared, finally having anger roar right through him, it was just enough to get him going. "I didn't kill him….. He gave me the morpher, to stop Doomtron!"_

"_You expect us to believe that?" Kane just shook his head. "I've had enough of your lies." He raised his blaster and set it to kill, he ordered the other four to do the same and they all pointed them at Wes. All of them ignored the pleas and shouts from the other Guardians and Nadira. "Any last words….?"_

_Wes didn't answer; he just stood there staring at the five blasters pointed right at him, letting fate decide what was ahead of him. His heart raced with fear, when he heard the shots of the blaster, they were heading right at him. And then….a bright flash of light shined around him. He felt his body fill with an energy and power he had never had before; it wasn't until it was over that he realized that somehow he had morphed into the quantum ranger. He was vaguely aware of the screams around him, but couldn't see anything. And once the light cleared and his body force-de-morphed and he dropped to his knees, that he saw the reason behind the screams. Five bodies of Silver Guardians lay before him, motionless…. Wes stayed where he was, horrified…._

Tears ran down Jen's face, she was completely mortified. She knew it was bad, but she hadn't imagined it was this bad; it was no wonder Wes was torn. And now she could see why he might have found some comfort with Nadira, she understood better than anyone what Wes was going through.

"The other Guardians didn't blame him for what happened; it was so fast that no one was sure what had happened. But that was the big event that changed Wes. He was never the same…." Nadira bowed her head. "It was hard enough for him when I told him about James."

Jen wasn't even sure now if she wanted to hear James's story. With what she'd heard so far, it didn't seem a happy ending was in sight. "I don't know if I want to hear another one, but I guess it's better to just get it over with…"

Nadira nodded her head, agreeing. Though this story wasn't as bad as the last one, it would be something she would never be able to forget. There we burning cars all over, people running in every direction to get to safety and the she heard the cries of a baby. "I was the one that found James, he was in his stroller. His mother was right beside him, barely hanging on…' Tears filled Nadira's eyes. "She asked me to get him out of there, to find his father….and then she was gone…."

Jen didn't know what to say, but now she understood more than she ever wanted to. Wes was a changed man now, he was no longer that care-free young man she had fallen in love with. And the thing that scared her more than anything was that Wes would try to take matters into his own hands, getting himself killed in the process….


	15. Rescue Mission

Though it was against his better judgment, Merrick had agreed to take Wes to where Eric was being held by Ransik and the others. The possibility of Eric already being dead was flowing through his mind. They kept a low profile, to keep from being seen by any of the cyclobots patrolling; it would be dawn soon and they would no longer have the dark to blend in with.

Not much had been said between them. Wes had made it apparent he wasn't into a conversation of any kind, which concerned Merrick. Wes seemed to be too caught up with this and was showing himself to be too determined to rescue Eric. It seemed to Merrick that whatever had happened to Wes had turned him into another person, a person that no longer valued their own life. He just didn't know what….

"What happened to you?" questioned Merrick. He needed to know just what he was dealing with, just in case Wes decided to take matters into his own hands and go off blindly into battle.

"It's none of your damn business!" Wes hissed, as he glared at Merrick coldly in the eyes. "Let's just get Eric and get this over with." Wes walked on ahead, just wanting to get some distance between him and Merrick.

"No. I think it is my business." Merrick watched as Wes stopped dead in his tracks; he could tell that this was just making Wes angrier, which was probably a bad thing, but right now he needed to make sure he could count on Wes. "It's clear you don't trust me. You don't appear to really trust the Silver Guardians who have been working with you all these months, and Jen….."

_Jen…._ Wes could already feel his body start to boil. "What about Jen?" Wes asked as he slowly turned around.

"You don't trust her either…. Not enough to tell her what's been going on with you."

He wanted to lash out at Merrick and beat the living daylights out of him, but Merrick was right. He didn't trust anyone anymore, not himself, not even Jen who he loved more than all the world. Wes bowed his head down, sighing heavily, but as hard as he tried he couldn't forget. It was a tear in his heart that would never heal, but even so, he wasn't ready to let anyone in that far. "Can we just find Eric?"

"Yeah," Merrick sighed. He had hoped that Wes would tell him what had happened, but Wes wasn't about to let whatever secret he was keeping out. "I just need to know I can count on you and that you won't try to pull any stupid stunts."

"I'll do what I have to do."

"Good." Merrick walked past him and looked him straight in the eyes. "I just hope you're not looking for some kind of death wish, because I would really hate going back to Jen and telling her that you died."

Wes didn't say a word or even give any sign of any emotion. The last months had taken a great toll on him. He himself knew he was not the same man he had once been, so full of life, now…..

"Because that's what you're looking for, isn't it?" questioned Merrick, getting right into Wes's face. He knew he needed to get Wes to admit that; it was the only way to break the wall Wes had built around himself. "That's why you didn't want Jen to come along with us."

"You have no idea what you're talking about!" Wes tried to shove pass Merrick, but only to find Merrick blocking his way each time.

But Merrick knew all too well about looking for a death wish. There was a time when all he wanted was death, to take away the pain of being imprisoned in that monster he had once been, to take away the memory of nearly killing his old friends who were now long since dead, to take away the pain in his heart of knowing that he and his lover could no longer be together. "I may not know what caused this, but I do know what it's like wanting to die. Wanting to walk the world alone and never letting anyone in and telling them what's wrong."

Wes stopped and looked Merrick right in the eyes, and spoke flatly. "Did you ever kill anyone, anyone good, anyone who didn't deserve it?"

"Almost, but no….." That piece of information was just enough for Merrick to see a glimpse of what had caused Wes to become a totally different person, who had lost the value of his own life.

"Then you have no idea."

Merrick bowed his head down, sighing. He didn't know what to say to fix things. The truth was, no amount of words could fix this. This was just something out of his hands. When Wes tried to pass by him again, he didn't stop him. He licked his lips and turned. "Wes……"

"What?" Wes stopped for a moment, looking over his shoulder.

"I'm sorry." It seemed like it was the only thing he could say. It wouldn't fix things. It wouldn't change things or make them better, but it was all he really could say.

"Yeah." Wes turned away, feeling the pain of the memory of what his _one_ choice had caused return. He was near tears, his voice muffled. "So am I."

"You need to forgive yourself. It's not healthy for you to go on this way."

Wes clenched his fists tightly, that was the last thing he wanted to hear. He violently turned to Merrick, grabbing a hold of him and nearly picking him up. "I will never forgive myself." _I can't….. _Wes released Merrick and backed a few feet away, letting Merrick know he was done and was ready to move on with their rescue mission.

Merrick finally had to come to terms with the fact that he couldn't help Wes. He wasn't sure if anyone could help him. The Wesley Collins that everyone had once known, might be too far gone to bring back. He took the lead knowing his time would be better spent saving Eric. "It's this way."

All Wes did was nod his head, not saying a word. He had said everything that needed to be said. The last thing he wanted was forgiveness or pity from anyone. He didn't deserve either one, not after the crimes he had commented.

* * *

After Nadira had told her the truth about Wes, about what had happened to him and had caused him to change his carefree personality so immensely, Jen needed to get some air. But more than anything she wanted to be alone for a while. At least until it all settled in her mind. All she wanted to do was cry, but she had cried enough during Nadira's story.

Jen leaned her back against the motel wall, sighing heavily, as she wiped her eyes dry. She wanted to contact Wes, let him know she knew and that it didn't change her feelings for him. But a part of her knew that in the state Wes was in, it probably wouldn't be the best thing to do right now. It would be better to tell him in person, so she could hold him in her arms, because that was the only time he seemed okay. She stared off into the darkness, with a hint of light shining through, hoping to see Wes and Merrick returning back with Eric, but she saw no sign of them.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she whispered. They used to be able to tell each other anything, ….well almost anything. It seemed strange now to think that it used to be her who needed him to help her through her problems; now for the first time it was him who needed her. Now more than ever.

* * *

"This is it," announced Merrick as he and Wes crept up to the window of the warehouse. They looked inside; Merrick pointed out where Eric was chained to a pole, the same place where he had last seen him. And from what they both could tell, Eric appeared to still be alive.

Wes looked around, trying to pick out Ransik, but he was nowhere in sight. And now that he thought about it neither were the cyclobots. He turned to Merrick. "I thought you said Ransik was here."

Merrick took another look, and sure enough Ransik was nowhere to be seen, only the three mutorgs. "He was." Right away Merrick knew this wasn't good; he just had a very bad feeling. "We need to get Eric out of there now."

"Well, for once we agree on something." Wes raised his wrist that held the Quantum morpher. "Better suit up." Both of them nodded their heads and morphed, knowing that once they stepped foot inside, they would have to face three hells of opponents. "Nice and easy…."

Takach and his two companions Rofang and Kired all stood around Eric, watching him, waiting for the right moment. Soon their plan would come together, they would first kill Eric and then join Ransik, but only when the time was right would they strike the mutant down.

"It will only be a little longer, human," hissed Takach.

"You think killing me will make a difference? There are others out there who can stop you."

"And we will kill them, just as we will kill you!" announced Rofang, who was growing tried of waiting around for when Takach was ready for them to begin.

Kired was growing weary as well. He hated standing around doing nothing. He needed some action, killing, blood. The very idea flowed through his mind. "Takach, let's do it now. I grow tired of this….."

Takach knew right from the beginning that his companions were weak-minded, which could become their downfall. He knew he couldn't rush things, otherwise things could get out of hand and they would lose their chance. He knew that if it came down to it, he would do what he had to do. "Very well…." He stepped back. "You two may have the pleasure of disposing of _him_."

Both Merrick and Wes came barging in, weapons ready. "Hold it right there!" yelled Wes. He wasn't about to let anything happen to Eric, not if he could help it. He raised the Quantum Defender towards the three mutorgs; his stance was firm.

Merrick could sense right away that Wes meant business, which again brought up his prior concerns that Wes might take matters into his own hands and go too far. Not only would he have to watch himself and Eric, he would have to look out for Wes. He had his work cut out for him. He tightened his fingers around his sword and looked the mutorgs straight in the eyes. They were even more powerful than he ever could imagine. "If you're smart you will return from whence you came," announced Merrick, speaking in the tongue that only the mutorgs could understand. "Or face the consequence of your untimely doom."

That turned Takach's ear, his language was long lost and forgotten by time; no one remembered it. He walked up to the Wolf Ranger, staring him down. "You are one of them, aren't you? One of the ancients?" He spoke back using the same forgotten language.

"I am." Merrick demorphed so the mutorg leader could look him right in the eyes. He ignored Wes, who was yelling at him not to demorph. "I am the last of their kind." Merrick stared him down, almost edgily. "And I am here to tell you, if you don't leave Earth now you and your two comrades will pay the price with your lives."

The mutorg leader laughed, amused by the comment, but he wasn't too excited about it. "You talk big." He got right into Merrick's face. "But you have no idea what we are capable of."

"Hate to interrupt your little conversation, but for the sake of those of us with a language barrier could we just stick with English?" announced Eric. "If that's not too much trouble."

"Silence, fool!" Rofang rammed his elbow across Eric's face.

That was all it took to get Wes going. He blasted the Quantum Morpher right at Rofang, hitting him in the shoulder. Then all hell broke loose…. "Why, you little piece of shit!" Rofang was getting ready to charge at Wes, but Eric put his leg out and tripped the mutorg.

Merrick angrily shoved Wes back a few feet. "What the hell was that, Wes? I was handling this!"

Eric's heart skipped a beat. He wasn't sure if he had heard things right, but he had. He knew he had recognized the voice behind the Quantum Ranger. He just never had believed it was…. "Wes…."

Kired's eyes lit up as he played the name over and over in his mind, and then it came to him. He recalled Ransik saying he had killed a red Ranger known as Wes Collins, but it seems to be that Ransik had been mistaken. He walked up to Takach and pointed right at Wes. "He is the one that Ransik believed he had killed."

"So he is." Takach drew out his sword. "Well, this time around I can promise you, you will be killed." He smiled cunningly. "Just as I expect Ransik will kill everyone in that underground hiding spot of yours."

The Defender dropped out of Wes's hand. He felt his heart skip a beat. "What…"

A grave amount of fear came over Merrick's face. It was just what he had feared. He had been followed. "Oh no…"

Eric bowed his head down, sighing, a part of him had hoped that they had already stopped Ransik, but that wasn't the case. Wes and Merrick had left before Ransik and the army of cyclobots had arrived, planning to kill whoever was hiding in the underground location, one of those people being Jen….

* * *

Jen decided it was time for her to head back inside. She knew once they returned, they would more than likely be bringing a battle back with them. She and the Guardians would have to prepare. But the last thing she ever expected was for them to find her. A large hand gripped her shoulder hard, forcing her to turn around.

"Hello Jen…."

"Ransik!" Jen snarled, she was about to lash out at him when she felt the cold slickness of his sword blade against her neck. Her eyes soon widened and filled with grave fear. Ransik hadn't come alone. He had brought a whole army of cyclobots with him.

"You're going to take me to where the others are hiding. Especially the _Quantum Ranger_." He saw alertness in Jen's eyes, as an evil grin curved across his face. "You know who he is, don't you? Tell me," he hissed.

"I'll never tell you," she spat.

Ransik only pulled her closer, nearly taking her shoulder out of its socket. "Oh, but you will." He would find out one way or another. "Come, let's go tell your friends you've brought company."

Jen tried as hard as she could, but she couldn't break Ransik's hold on her. She was helpless as he dragged her with him, back inside the motel, knowing that at any moment all hell would break lose. She watched as one of the cyclobots came around and pointed down at the ground, at the place where a board was loose that lead to the unground bunker where they had been hiding out. Her heart bled with fear, because she knew that the Silver Guardians wouldn't be strong enough to take on this army.

"So that's where you've all been hiding." Ransik kicked up the board and it went crashing against the wall, breaking into pieces. "Well, let's not keep them waiting." He lifted Jen up and looked her square in the eyes. "Why don't you go first and let them know we're here?" He laughed as he tossed her down the stairs.

Jen went rolling fast down the stairs and once she reached the bottom she crashed against the wall, hitting her shoulder hard. The pain was intense, she couldn't move as she watched as Ransik and the cyclobots stormed down the stairs.

"What's going on?" One of the Silver Guardian rushed over to Jen. He watched as Jen's eyes remained glued on what was in front of her. He turned his head, "Oh no…." He quickly grabbed his radio, but didn't have much time to react, as the cyclobots shot right back at him. All Jen could do was watch as he fell to the ground.


	16. Grave Fear

Wes felt his blood turn cold, as his heart nearly stopped dead. He was afraid now he couldn't hide it, not from the mutorgs, Merrick, Eric or even himself. The sound of his voice said it all, because now Ransik was ransacking the home he had shared with a few surviving members of the Silver Guardians, but they weren't the only ones down there. Nadira, James, and Jen were there as well. He would never be able to forgive himself if something happened to all of them. It would just be too much to lose them, especially Jen. Especially when so many lives had been lost, just so he could protect her, prevent her from dying.

He just stood there unmoving and frozen, with his fear of what could happen to Jen with him not there to protect her from Ransik. He was imagining every possible evil horrible thing that could be happening to her. Sure, he knew Jen was one of the strongest girls he had ever met, but she would be all alone. The Silver Guardians' weapons wouldn't be able to stand up to Ransik's powers. He had barely survived his own battle against Ransik. "Jen…."

Eric watched as Wes went into a frozen state of mind. He knew how Wes was when it came to Jen, but something else was there, something worse…. This wasn't the Wes he had remembered. Wes wasn't even paying attention while the mutorgs regrouped and were planning an all out attack on him.

Merrick watched as the mutorgs began to power up, seeing an opportunity to take out the Quantum Ranger, while he was lost in his state of mind. Merrick quickly nodded to Eric, letting him know he had the situation under control. He started charging at Wes. "Wes, look out!" He tackled him to the ground, just as a powerful blast beam of destruction hovered over their heads.

Now on the ground Merrick quickly scrambled for the Quantum Defender and handed it to Wes. He knew right away that Jen being in danger and possibly near death was going to be a problem for Wes, a problem that would just be added to the other problems on hand. "The quicker we take out these three, the sooner we'll be able to get back to Jen and the others. Can I count on you?"

But even as he asked it, he could already sense that his young friend wasn't thinking straight. Wes was deeply concerned for Jen, the woman he loved more than anything. _Love_… A feeling Merrick knew too well, he knew the kinds of things that could happen when you're worried about someone you love, someone you love too much. He had been in that situation before, and things hadn't ended well. He just hoped the same thing wouldn't happen to Wes.

"Get off of me!" Wes shoved Merrick off of him and yanked the Defender gun from his hands. "I'll handle those three, you get Eric!" In that moment Wes gathered his bearings, but not in the way anyone would have wanted him to. He jumped to his feet and went heading towards the three creatures all on his own, as if he felt like it had to be his job and no one else's. That he alone had to be the one…

"Damnit, Wes!" Merrick slammed his fists onto the ground. Wes was more stubborn than he thought. The Wolf Ranger quickly jumped to his feet and rushed over to Eric to free him from his chains. He knew that Wes wasn't going to be able to handle the three mutorgs alone, not while he was in his blind rage, bent on taking anything out that stood in his way. His heart beat faster with each passing second, as he tried to get the chains off of Eric, knowing that time wasn't on their side and that Wes would only be able to hold out for so long.

"Merrick, what the hell is wrong with Wes?"

"The only thing I know, is something terrible happened." Merrick morphed into the Wolf Ranger and called for his sword. "Don't move." It only took one good swing, and Merrick broke the chains. He had to move quickly as Eric's legs gave away, due to the exhaustion from standing up for so long. The two just stood there for a moment, watching as Wes put up the battle of his life, taking every punch and blow, like he somehow deserved it. Merrick sighed heavily; this was what he had been afraid of all along… "He wants to die, Eric."

"Wes wants to die?" Eric played the words over and over in his mind. It just didn't seem possible. The Wes he had known was full of life. The Wes he had known since prep school didn't want to die, not when he was still so young, so much to look forward to, not when Jen was in trouble. "Why would he want to….." And then he knew. _He knew_…. He knew the very reason why Wes would want to die. There was no question that people had died the day Ransik and Doomtron made an all-out attack, even Eric himself had put it on Wes's shoulders that if anyone died it would be his fault, because he had been the one who sent the others back.

Eric shoved Merrick away from him, wanting to stand up on his own, getting into a fighting stance. He had been angry that day. He had said things he probably shouldn't have and now those very words could be just what were eating away at Wes. He couldn't undo what he had said, but he could fight by Wes's side. Not to mention the fact that he wasn't planning on letting Wes die. Not this time… He would do whatever it took to make sure Wes lived to see another day, lived to see his father again.

"Eric…" Merrick turned to him, concerned. He knew that Eric was in no condition to fight against the mutorgs, yet again without ranger powers. He wouldn't stand a chance. "You can't…."

"By my calculation there's three of them and three of us." He looked right at Merrick, very firm with his words. He wasn't about to back down, not now, not when Wes needed him. Wes had once been there for him, now it was his turn to repair the favor. "I'm doing this whether you like it or not!"

"Alright. I don't like it, but I understand." Besides, Merrick knew it was going to take all the help they could get, especially with Wes not quite right in the head. He loosened his grip around his sword and handed it out to Eric. When Eric hesitated to take it… "Go on, take it, you're going to need more than quick fancy moves to get past these guys."

"Thanks." Eric took the weapon and tightened his hands around it. "Let's go show these three why you don't mess with the Power Rangers."

"You got it!" Together Merrick and Eric ran together to join Wes, knowing they were up for the biggest fight of their lives so far. Merrick knew the mutorgs wouldn't go down easily. It was going to take everything they had to defeat them and put an end to their reign of terror.

* * *

It hadn't taken long for them to storm in and take over the situation. Injured and dead bodies of Silver Guardians lay all over and a battle was still going on. Jen could still hear blaster fire going off. They had just walked past her, left her where they had thrown her, figuring she would no longer be a problem to them. And at that moment she wasn't, but now the sharp pain she had been feeling in her shoulder was starting to fade away.

She should go join the remaining Silver Guardian and assist them, even knowing full well that she didn't stand a chance. Not against Ransik, he had already come close to killing her numerous times, not to mention the fact that both Alex and Wes had nearly died while trying to take him down. Taking a deep breath Jen moved her wrist up, she needed to contact Wes and Merrick, let them know what was going on. She wasn't going to be able to do this on her own.

"Jen…."

Jen turned her head and saw Nadira peering out behind one of the walls. Her face was fearful and showed deep concern. Nadira knew the situation was bad, she had seen her father and the army of cyclobots storming throughout the underground barracks, so she had quickly hidden James and herself in one of the back rooms, but had grown concerned for her new-found friends. So she had left James alone, and that was when she found Jen lying there helplessly, next to the dead body of a Silver Guardian.

Nadira rushed to Jen's side, helping her up. She knew time wasn't on their side. "Come on, I'll get you somewhere safe."

"No." Jen pushed Nadira away, she didn't want to go and hide. That wasn't what a Ranger was all about; a Ranger will fight no matter what. "I have to go help them."

"We need the other Rangers." Nadira grabbed Jen again, knowing she might have to use all the strength she had to get Jen to safety. "I _know_ my father; he'll stop at nothing, at killing you." But that wasn't the only reason, there was an even more desperate reason that Nadira needed Jen to go with her. "I need your help in protecting James."

"James…." Jen knew the young baby would be a sitting duck when it came to Ransik and an army of cyclobots. The Silver Guardians stood a better chance at survival than the young boy Nadira had been caring for. "You're right." She didn't like it, but right now James needed her more. Once she was safe in the room where Nadira was going to take her, she would be able to contact Wes, let him know what was going on. And then they could work on a plan and maybe by then they would be able to get in contact with the other Wild Force Rangers from Merrick's team.

Nadira, Jen and a few Silver Guardians made it into a back room. The Guardians quickly bolted the door shut and blocked it with whatever they could find in the room, hoping and praying that it would be able to hold until help could arrive. They stood a few feet away from it, standing tall and strong, blasters pointed straight forward, ready to shoot at whatever would come through that door. Outside they could hear cyclobots blasting away and the cries of their fallen comrades.

There was no denying that everyone in that room was afraid, afraid for their lives, for each other and those outside that room. They wanted to go out and help their friends, but with the limited weapons they had, it would be suicide. And if something happened to them, who would protect James? Nadira held James close to her, trying to comfort him as he cried heavily in her arms. Little James didn't have to be a grown-up to understand that what was taking place outside that room was bad. He could feel it; he could sense the fear growing inside the room. The distress was building up in their eyes, and their hearts pounded loudly against their chests.

"It's going to be okay, James." Nadira kissed him on the head. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you." But even Nadira wasn't sure for just how long she could protect James. Her father was out there killing men, her friends, people she had saved and nursed back to health. He would be less than pleased to see how she had taken up with the humans, with this child. She was one of them now…

The noises outside were getting worse. Jen could feel her heart racing. It wouldn't be long before someone found out where they were, and once they did, it would all be over. She had to get a grip; they needed her to stay focused. _Come on Jen; take a few deep breaths…._ She raised her morpher up to her mouth. "Wes, do you read me, come in." There was no answer, but she wasn't about to give up; she had to try again. "Wes, please come in, this is Jen." But still there was no answer… She began to fear the worse, what if something bad had happened to him and Merrick? What if Ransik had gotten to them first?

_"Hang in there Jen, help is on the way…"_

"Wes…." But even as she said his name, she knew that it…..

_"No, it's Alex."_

"Alex…."

_"Just hang in there, Jen. We'll be with you soon."_

"We?"

* * *

Alex and the rest of the gang were getting close to the motel; they had picked up a signal from Jen's morpher just moments after Trip had gotten one of his visions that something terrible was happening.

"Don't worry, Jen, everything's going to be okay," Alex reassured her once more, before lowering his wrist. The motel was within eyesight, a battle just within their grasp, a battle that very well could be their last. The others closed close around him, waiting for his word. Even Taylor stood back, now seeming to understand that what was before them was bigger then anything she had ever faced before.

"Just say the word, Alex, we're with you all the way," announced Lucas. Though he and Alex had disagreed in the past, the young Blue Ranger knew that Alex was the best suited to lead them into this battle.

"Good." Alex turned to them all. "Because that's what it's going to take for us to go all the way." He took a deep breath, a part of him wished the Wild Force Rangers hadn't gotten involved, they had their own mission to accomplish, but at the same time he knew they needed them. "I can't promise you that any of you will survive this." He eyed them, all hard and firm, as if giving them a reason to turn and walk away. "If Ransik has the chance he will kill you, no questions asked."

Both Trip and Katie had to agree, recalling the time when they had seen Ransik strike Alex down, showing no mercy. None at all. So they turned to their new friends, wanting to make sure they were willing and ready for this.

"There's no way I'm turning back now, not when we've come this far," announced Alyssa. "I'm fully prepared to make any sacrifices I must."

Max and Danny were the next two to step forward, both of their faces showed they were prepared for the task that lay before them. "Whatever you need us to do, Alex, we're ready!" exclaimed Max.

"You can count on us," added Danny.

Cole stepped forward and faced Alex and all his new-found friends. He was still new to this world, learning just what it was to be part of a team, what it took to be a hero, the risks and sacrifices a hero must make, to save the many. "If there is one thing I've learned about friendship and teamwork - you don't back down, no matter how bad the odds are." He put out his hand. "I'll go with you to the end, if that's what it takes."

They were even braver than the legend ever made them out to be. Before him stood heroes in the making, warriors of the past that had been the focus of his training at the Academy, when he has just been a boy. He shook Cole's hand firmly, proud to have him go into battle and fight by his side. His eyes then wandered over to Taylor, the toughest of the five, stern and bold, everything that made her a great Ranger and leader.

"You don't think I'm going to let you guys have all the fun." She was ready to face any org or non-org opponent, because she knew that if neither one was stopped, sooner or later the threat would reach her home and it would no longer be only Silver Hills fallen in ruins. "Let's go kick some mutant ass!"

The battle had just begun…………


	17. Three Battles

Wes fought valiantly against the three mutorgs, giving all he had to give. He hardly noticed as Merrick and Eric came to his aid. They were no longer there to him; this had become just one of the many battles that he still had to face. He did for a moment welcome their help, as if a part of him deep inside knew he could not do this alone. No matter how much he wanted to.

While Wes fought against Takach, the leader of the trio, Merrick and Eric took on Rofang and Kired. Merrick was handling himself well, fighting in the old ways as the warriors of his past had fought. Kired was his opponent, he was unlike any mutorg he had ever faced, but he would see to it that he along with his comrades was defeated. He would not stand for the Earth to be taken over by their kind. He would die before that would happen.

No powers: Eric would have to use his human spirit to fight against Rofang. He had been highly trained in hand to hand combat, but his opponents then had been human and had no special abilities. Rofang was a powerful and deadly org, a hideous monster that would stop at nothing to kill him. But at that moment having special powers, his Ranger abilities, didn't matter to Eric. He could fight without them; he might not live to see another day, but until that time he was going to fight, give all he had to give. He tightened his hands around the sword that Merrick had given him, and used it to block against the org's powerful blows.

"You think you can defeat us, ancient one?" Kired circled around Merrick, eyeing him, as if he could see right behind the mask and into the Ranger's eyes. The mutorg knew very well that Merrick was the last of his kind, the last of the greatest of warriors of the old time. "Even your old teachings will not be enough to stop us."

"That is where you are wrong, Kired; you will be defeated. The ancient warriors maybe gone forever, but there are many others like them, that will stop at nothing to defeat you." Merrick wasn't about to let his guard down or let Kired outsmart him. He knew if he did he would be dead where he stood and that couldn't happen.

He might be the last; his friends and family, the life he had once knew was gone, but he couldn't let all they had fought for, died for, be destroyed. It was his duty to protect the Earth and all its wonders. "I will stop at nothing to defeat you."

"Hah!" laughed Kired mockingly. "Humans are worthless, just a waste of space that needs to be exterminated."

"Funny, I could say the same thing about you," commented Eric as he and Rofang passed by, dueling it out.

Merrick circled around Kired until they were moving at the same pace, eye to eye, waiting for the other to make the move. The mutorg tightened his fists together, snarling. "We both know the likelihood of your two friends' survival is slim. You know how powerful we are. You know it's going to take a lot more than Ranger powers to defeat us," Kired mocked. "Face it, ancient warrior of the past, it is futile to attempt what you're doing."

"Do you ever shut-up!" roared Merrick, as he jumped over the mutorg and kicked him hard against the back, causing Kired to go flying and slamming right against a wall.

Kired pushed himself up and growled back at Merrick. "This ends now."

Merrick got into his stance, taking slow and steady breaths, knowing that from here on out both of their lives would be hanging in the balance. "For once we agree on something."

* * *

Alex and the others surrounded the motel, keeping their eyes open and ready for any lurking cyclobots. All seemed quiet, too quiet…. "Alright guys, nice and easy." They moved in at a steady pace, not yet wanting to let Ransik and his swarm of cyclobots know they were here.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," announced Lucas, feeling sick to his stomach. Though it had not been too long ago since Alex had contacted Jen, he just had a bad feeling, like he knew that once they stepped foot inside they would be walking right into a massacre.

"You're not the only one," added Max, who wasn't quite ready to come face to face with what he knew was underneath them. The likelihood of finding dead bodies was very high and he wasn't sure how his young eyes would be able to handle that. Though he had seen a lot in his young life, nothing could ever prepare you for something like this.

"Don't worry, Max," Danny gripped his friend's shoulder. "We'll make it through this, you'll see."

Alex took the lead, showing his leadership skills. It had taken him a long way to get to here; he had never been a great leader before, no… That had been Jen and even Wes; they had been the leaders before. Now it was his turn to show that he too could be a leader. Katie was close behind him, blaster in her hand, eyes looking all over as they walked inside the darkened motel.

They looked in every direction, but saw only darkness, empty halls and silence that left an eerie feeling in their gut. She could feel her heart pounding against her chest, fear for Jen and the possibility that they could be too late, fear for what was going on underneath them and fear of what could happen to all of them. "I don't like this Alex, it's too quiet."

No one said a word, as they searched the area around them. It looked as though no cyclobots were on the main floor and that Ransik had taken them all underground, but Alex knew Ransik better. If Ransik thought even for a second that more of them would be coming, he would make sure to have the place heavily guarded, hiding from them, just wanting to make their move when they least suspected it.

Trip and Lucas stuck close together, blasters in hand, just in case, but at that moment it seemed as though they would have no use for them. The blue Ranger leaned over Trip's shoulder. "Now would be a good time to get your psychic visions in working order."

"I told you before. I can't control when they happen, it doesn't work that way,' exclaimed Trip. He hated it every time Lucas would bring up the subject of him using his abilities, when he had no control or say when it would happen.

"Quiet, you two!" hushed Alex. Now wasn't the time for bickering, he needed full corporation from everyone. "We don't want them to know we're here."

"Too late!" announced Taylor; she had been looking down the hall and saw a glimmering dark figure staring right back at her. It was a cyclobot. Their cover had been blown and more than likely it was blown the second they stepped foot inside.

"Everyone, get into position!" ordered Alex. Not a moment later more and more cyclobots began to appear, coming out of the shadows and surrounding them all. They were heavily outnumbered both above and under-ground, it was going to take everything they had to take them out.

Taylor and Alyssa were side by side, in every direction they could see three or more cyclobots headed towards them, arms waving, ready to tear them apart, piece by piece. They had been through battles before, but none like this, not with so many and such tight quarters. "This isn't good, Alex, there's too many," exclaimed Alyssa, knowing that no matter how many they took out, more would keep showing up, and at some point they would all be too exhausted to continue on.

"And what about your friend, Jen? She sounded like she was in trouble," added Taylor; she hated to be the bearer of bad news, but things were already bad as it was.

Alex could feel his heart pounding against his chest. He knew that Jen was in trouble, the sound of her voice had said it all. People were dying down there and if they didn't get to her soon, she too could share the same fate as the others. "Jen's going to have to wait; we need to take these guys out first."

"But Alex…" started Lucas, knowing that every second they spent up here dealing with the cyclobots, meant one second closer for Ransik or someone else taking Jen's life.

"She'll be fine!" Alex roared. He didn't need to be reminded that Jen was in trouble. He knew she was in trouble and that _every_ second counted, but right now the team needed his help in dealing with the cyclobots. Alex grabbed a hold of his sword. "Now let's take these guys!"

And the battle had begun……..

* * *

The noise outside was getting worse and more violent sounding. Jen could feel her heart pounding against her chest as she and the two Guardians in the room with her stood their ground protecting the entrance, waiting for when it would be broken into. Her hand was shaking as she got prepared to morph. This was it, this would be the battle of all battles, the one that would really prove she had what it took to be a Ranger.

She briefly turned to Nadira who was holding onto James, trying her best to keep the young child calm, but even her best attempts were not enough. If the cyclobots broke free into the room, it would be all over for James. Jen looked around for a place to hide the boy, find some place safer than out in the open, but there was no place. And even if there was, his cries would be enough to bring him out of hiding. It would be up to her to make sure they didn't get him….or Nadira.

"It won't be much longer!" announced one of the Guardians, as he double-checked and made sure his blaster was loaded and set to full power. All these months he had managed somehow to survive; he just hoped he would be able to survive a little longer, giving time for the other Rangers to show up.

"We are ready when you are, Jen," added the other Guardian. "On your call."

In the past she had never agreed with what the Silver Guardians had been doing. She had thought it was too dangerous, that they didn't know what they were getting themselves into, but today she realized she had been wrong. Many had already died, so many had the chance to turn away from the battle, but none of them had done it. They had all proven that even a non-Ranger had the heart and courage to take on this deadly threat.

Jen took a deep breath and took one last look at Nadira, though they weren't friends, not even close, but they did have an understanding of each other. "Nadira, do whatever you have to, to protect him. Whatever you have to…." She didn't know what that would be, but she knew there was a good chance she would fail. And that it would be up to Nadira to make sure James was safe.

"I will." Nadira bit her lip, holding back her tears, for what she knew was a high possibility. "Just be….be careful…"

The pink Ranger didn't answer, just nodded her head. In any other case she would be careful, but given the situation, being careful didn't seem to be a choice. It would be quick and fast moving, little time to think. Jen morphed and joined the two Guardians, waiting for what might be the last battle she'd ever face. But her mind wasn't on what her last moments of life could be filled with, her mind was on Wes. She wanted to know where he was, if he was all right….if she would ever see him again. He had been through so much, she wanted to be there for him, but now…… Now it seemed that once again fate had found a way to tear them apart.

* * *

Wes and Takach were still at it, blasting and slashing at one another. Neither one backing down or showing any signs of growing weary. Wes had been stronger than Takach had thought, he was a worthy opponent, a great fighter among men. He was going to need more than brute strength to defeat him. And he knew just the thing,…. Wes's burst of rage-filled power had begun the moment he had learned that his friends, particularly a pink Ranger, were in trouble.

The mutorg leader knew that humans have strong connections with each other and high emotions. It was very clear to him that the man he was fighting had strong feelings for the pink Ranger that Ransik and the cyclobots had gone after. Perhaps he could use this to his advantage. He laughed, as he began to circle around Wes, his eyes glaring right at him, as if they could see right through his helmet.

"What's so funny?" exclaimed Wes, as he kept up with Takach's movements; he kept his sword close to him, as if expecting the mutorg to change his tactics. But all the mutorg leader was doing was watching him, eyeing him closely, which was beginning to get on Wes's nerves. All he wanted to do was finish him off and get back to Jen, before it was too late.

"Oh nothing, just wondering how your pretty friend is faring." Takach knew he had hit a nerve as he watched as Wes loosed his grip around his sword. _Foolish human…._ The mutorg decided to take it one step further, knowing that Wes would be the easiest of the three to break. Once he had Wes right where he wanted him, he would pierce him right through the heart and the other two would fall soon after. "Ransik mentioned having some fun with her, before he rips her heart out…"

Eric had caught wind of what was going on and knew it was bad. Takach had found Wes's greatest weakness. The former Quantum Ranger using Merrick's sword forced Rofang back a few feet, causing the mutorg to fall to the ground. It gave him just a few moments to call out to Wes. "Don't listen to him, Wes!"

But it was already too late… Takach had Wes's full attention and was intending to go all the way, until he broke the young human warrior to pieces, beyond repair. "How does it feel to know that your lover will suffer and there isn't a _thing_ you can do about it?"

"Shut up!"

He stepped closer until he was face to face with Wes. His hot breath puffed onto the visor of his helmet, fogging it up. "In fact I bet she's dead already…."

CLANG!! Wes's sword dropped to the ground and in his state of loss of focus and concentration, his mind was distraught, his face full of pain, already he could see Jen crying out in pain, calling out his name, but he was not there for her, just her alone, covered in blood. "Jen…." Takach saw his chance and whacked Wes in the head as hard as he could. Wes's body whirled like a rag doll and he landed flat on his back.

"Fool," hissed Takach as he slammed his foot against Wes's chest, crushing against his ribs.

Wes cried out in pain, his ribs had already injured from past battles and now he could feel them re-breaking all over again. The pain was so intense that, he went into a force dimorph.

"Shit!" Eric had caught glimpses of the whole thing during his attempt to throw Rofang off guard. He would have only a few short moments to get to Wes, as Takach hovered, getting ready to strike and kill the only real friend he had ever had.

Wes was just frozen, he couldn't think, he couldn't move. He just remained still, laying on the ground, with Takach right over him. No matter what he did, someone always ended up hurt. "I'm sorry, Jen…." Hot tears streamed down his face, not because of the crushing and breaking of his ribs, but for everything else, for all the pain he has caused.

"Say goodbye, Ranger," hissed Takach.

"Merrick!" roared Eric, as he shoved Rofang with all his might away from him and struck the mutorg with his sword, as he went running towards Wes as fast as he could.

"Oh no!" In his pit of his stomach Merrick knew if he didn't do something now, Wes was going to die.

Kired turned and looked over at the sight of his leader, getting ready to make his kill, laughing. "There is nothing you can do, ancient warrior. Your friend is as good as dead."

"We'll just see about that!" Before Kired could even react, Merrick round-kicked him hard against the head and ran like he had never run before, towards Wes, but was only able to get a few feet before a powerful force field of bright light prevented both him and Eric from getting any closer to Wes.

"Damnit! We can't get to him," roared Eric.

"It is futile, your friend has chosen his fate," they heard Takach hiss out.

Eric could feel his heart racing, this couldn't be happening. He had just learned that Wes was alive, after all this time. He couldn't just lose him, not like this, not now. "Damnit! Wes! Wes….." But Wes never answered his pleas. There was nothing he could do, he couldn't see beyond the force field. It was hopeless…. Eric turned to Merrick, hoping that he might have a solution. "Merrick…."

Merrick didn't answer, only stared into the powerful field of bright light, trying to sense, to pick up on Wes and the mutorg. He closed his eyes, seconds that felt like endless time passed by, with no answer…. And then, he held out his hand. "My sword……"

Without hesitation Eric handed Merrick his sword back and the moment it was in his hand, Merrick powered it up and spoke in a tongue Eric only recognized to be something similar to the language the mutorgs had been speaking in, before tossing it into the force field. Then all time stood still……..


	18. Wake Up Call

They waited and watched, as the sword struck right into the heart of the force field, causing an even more massive counter effect. Sparks flew all over the place, nearly hitting both Eric and Merrick along with the two mutorgs, Rofang and Kired.

Eric's eyes widened in terror. "You're killing him!" He started to run forward fully intending to run right through it, not caring how badly it could hurt him. He needed to get Wes out of there before his friend really ended up dead, for good this time. However, Merrick wasn't going to have it, he only pulled him back from going any further.

"Just wait…" Merrick's eyes remained focused and confident, showing that there was no need to worry and that everything would be okay. "Just trust me."

In that moment that was all Eric really could do, was trust that Merrick knew what he was doing and hope and pray that his young friend would be okay. Eric's eyes remained glued on the sight, as he watched as the bright lights around the spot where Wes and Takach were slowly began to fade away, as the force field was beginning to drop. He was vaguely aware of Merrick, telling him to "Wait for it….. wait for it….."

Once the force field had diminished, they found Wes lying flat on the ground, barely moving, and Takach with the sword right through his heart. Both Rofang and Kired stepped forward; they couldn't believe it.

"Impossible…."

"He couldn't have…." Rofang exclaimed, but indeed it appeared that Merrick, the last of the ancient warriors, had somehow managed to send his sword right into Takach's heart. They watched as their comrade, their leader; screamed out in pain, as bright streaks of light began to emerge from his body.

Merrick sensed what was happening, felt it as his heart skipped a beat, knowing that they didn't have much time. "Eric, we got to move now! He's going to blow!"

"This whole place could go down." Eric glanced over to Wes, who was barely moving. Eric knew that without help Wes wasn't going to make it out of this. Whether Wes wanted their help or not, he was going to get it. "We got to get Wes!"

"Right." Merrick nodded his head and not a moment later, the two ran towards Wes, dove to the ground and scooped him up and ran like hell towards the exit. They were vaguely aware of Rofang and Kired yelling back at them.

They were only a few feet away, almost home free. Eric, with his heart racing, looked over his shoulder, and saw as Rofang and Kired began to move their hands, and watched as they formed a ball of energy, headed right at them. He took a deep breath, knowing that the next couple of seconds would either mean life or death. "Brace yourselves!"

A huge explosion emerged, the whole building was up in flames, but just before it hit the burst of the explosion sent our three heroes flying out and crashing into an alley. The hard fall caused Merrick to go into a forced demorph, and he and Eric watched as the fire burned heavily; it felt as though the heat was right on top of them.

"Do you think the explosion finished them off?"

Merrick looked into the fire but could see no sign of them, but even that wasn't good enough to know that they really had been killed. Orgs were very powerful and could survive almost anything. "I don't know, it's possible." He turned to Eric with a grim look on his face. "But it's also possible they survived."

Not exactly the answer Eric was looking for. He looked back at the fire, either way, right now, at least for now, it seemed as though they were safe, which would give him enough time to knock some sense into Wes. "You okay, Wes?" asked Eric as he moved towards his young friend who was leaning against the wall of a building, holding onto his chest, wincing in pain from the broken ribs he had gotten from his fight with the mutorg leader.

"You should have left me there….."

"You selfish self-righteous bastard!" Eric slugged Wes right in the face, as if it was his way of trying to get through to Wes. But even the hard blow didn't seem to put a dent in Wes's behavior.

Eric couldn't believe this; never in his wildest dreams did he ever think he would see the day when Wes Collins would throw in the towel and just want to give up on everything. He got right into Wes's face and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, nearly shoving him against the wall.

"Eric, this isn't really the time," announced Merrick, though he knew Wes needed some type of intervention this really wasn't the time or the place to be doing it. Not with the possibility that the mutorgs could have survived and not when they had friends in danger.

"No, we have to do this here and now." Eric knew that if this was just the beginning of the battles yet to come, he needed to make sure that he could count on Wes one-hundred percent.

"Look, just give it to me already, Eric, bash my face in…."

At that moment, all he wanted to do was bash into Wes's face, but he knew with all the injures Wes already had withstood he didn't need to add any more to them. "Look, I get it. You're messed up right now, and have gone through a lot of shit! I get that, I really do." Eric looked Wes hard in the eyes, really pinning it right into him. "But right now, we have a city that needs to be cleaned of the garbage that is still roaming around. And then there's Jen….." He watched as Wes turned his face away, just at the mention of her name. Eric sighed; it was like he didn't even recognize him anymore. The Wes he had known was gone, but a part of him wanted to believe that somewhere deep inside, he was still there. "And I thought you, more than anyone, wouldn't want anything bad to happen to her." He licked his lips and forced Wes to look right at him, eye to eye, man to man. "Which would be kind of hard to do if you're dead!"

"Get off of me!" Wes shoved Eric away and started to turn away, to get some distance, but the pain from his broken ribs caused him to drop to his knees. Though the pain was strong, it didn't compare to everything else he was feeling.

Merrick kept a close watch on the burning building. By the tone of both Wes's and Eric's voices and what he knew of the situation, they weren't going to be leaving anytime soon. At least not until everything was settled, which needed to be taken care of as soon as possible.

"If you really love her as much as you say you do, then you need to get your act together, so you can help her." Eric knew very well that Jen was Wes's breaking point and knew it might be the only way to get through to him, much like how the mutorgs used it against Wes, but in a slightly different way.

"I don't deserve her…." Wes knelt with his back towards Eric holding onto his ribs tightly. He sighed heavily; after everything he had done, all the damage and pain; all he truly felt he deserved was death and nothing else. He turned to Eric, his eyes in tears. "You were right, what you said would happen, did happen, and it's my fault. It's _all_ my fault. They're all dead…..because of me."

Never in all his life did Eric wish so much he could take something back that he had said, even though at the time it was true, but in the end it hadn't helped things. He could still hear the very words he had said, playing over in his mind.

"_A whole lot of people are going to die because of your selfish act." ….. "Nice going, hero, Daddy's going to be real proud!"_

"Wes…" Eric started to reach out to him to grip Wes's shoulder, but Wes shoved his hand away.

"Just save it. After the things I've done and caused I deserve anything, from anyone…."

"Fine, you can go on believing that, that you don't deserve friends, family, a relationship, but then one day you'll get up, look in the mirror, and you will have become me." Eric walked around Wes so he could look him right in the face. "But take it from me, I'd give anything to be in your shoes. To know that I had a father and a girl who loved me no matter what kind of shit I have done."

"But all those people…."

"We all make mistakes, Wes, and even if you hadn't sent them back, people still would have died."

Wes nodded his head; Eric was right, as hard as it was to accept that, he was right. No matter what he had done, there still would have been lives lost that day. And right now his time would be better spent helping those in need, than in hating himself for those he couldn't save. "Since when did you become the sensible one?"

"Since you've been acting like an ass." Eric grinned and nudged Wes in the shoulder. "But I expect that once this is all over, that things will go back to the way they were."

"Sounds like a plan." Wes gripped onto his ribs tightly and winced at the pain. "But before we do anything, I need to do something about these ribs."

* * *

Alex and the others had been fighting non-stop, but the more cyclobots they took down, the more that just kept on appearing. It was an endless battle and time was starting to take effect; as hard as he tried, he couldn't defeat all of them, to make his way to the opening underground.

"Damnit!" Alex slashed his sword at one of the cyclobots and prepared to take on another. He glanced over at Taylor the yellow Ranger, who was having problems of her own but was the closest to making a break for it, to go help Jen and whoever else was below. "Taylor, do you think you can manage to get yourself in that opening?"

She only had a moment to see the opening; she was only a few feet away from it. The only problem was she was crowded by five or six cyclobots, who were trying to tear her limb from limb. But she was always up for a challenge, especially with lives at stake. "Yeah. I can try!" Taylor began quickening her pace, hoping to throw off the zombie-like robots, and when she saw her chance she would make a break for it.

_Please be okay, Jen, just a hold out a little longer…._ Alex knew if anything happened to her, he would never begin to be able to forgive himself. She might no longer love him, but that didn't stop him from loving her. She had and still was his whole world; he would have done anything for her.

A cyclobot pounded him hard in the chest, nearly causing the brave warrior to go off of his feet, but Alex quickly regained his balance. He reminded himself he needed to stay focused and not let his mind wander. The more time he spent worrying about Jen, the more chances the cyclobots would have at taking him out completely. _Alright, Alex, time to get back into the game_. The most feared officer in Time Force began using every move he had learned from the academy. He grabbed the cyclobot, twisting its arm and throwing it over his shoulder, sending it right into the cyclobot that Lucas had been fighting. He took a moment to catch his breath, then looked right at the blue Ranger. "Get yourself and Taylor down there right now, Jen's waited long enough!"

"About time," answered Lucas. He turned and scanned the vicinity for Taylor, it shouldn't be difficult to pick out a yellow Ranger, but with the large amount of cyclobots and lack of lighting it was making it a little difficult. And then he saw her, fighting off a few remaining cyclobots that had been near her. He started running towards her, knowing that they would only have one chance before the other cyclobots would get wind of what they were doing, they might not be the smartest of the bunch, but they sure weren't stupid.

Lucas ran like he had never run before, jumping over the other Rangers and cyclobots to get to her; once he landed on the ground he looked to her and ran. "It's go time, Taylor!" Together the two jumped into the opening that would lead them below, hoping to find Jen in one piece, but one thing was for sure, the battle was only going to get worse and more deadly.

"I sure hope Jen's okay," said Trip as he and Katie fended off their own group of cyclobots. He had been trying to use his senses to pick up on her but he had never been able to force his ability, it would do it all on its own, whether he wanted it to or not.

"You and me both," answered Katie, who was deeply concerned about her friend. She knew Jen was an excellent fighter and officer, but also knew that even Jen had her limits and with Ransik anything was possible.

* * *

"Well, that should do it for now," announced Merrick as he made sure the bandage was tightly pressed and wrapped around Wes's chest. "I know this isn't the best time to be saying this, but from here on out you need to take it easy."

"Somehow I don't think Ransik or the cyclobots are going to feel the same way," answered Wes, knowing that they would turn his injures to their advantage and use them against him.

"And there's no talking you out of this," added Eric.

"Hell no! We're in this together, no matter what happens."

Merrick knew that with Wes's injuries, it would be extremely dangerous for him to continue on with the fight, and though right now Wes was thinking straight and level-headed, there would be no way of talking him into staying out of this fight, not with Jen in trouble, not when he still felt a responsibility to see this fight through to the end. It was something Merrick understood all too well.

"We should get going," announced Eric as he helped Wes to his feet. "I think your girlfriend has waited long enough for your ass to go save her."

"I just hope that she's still there to be saved."

"You worry too much, Wes, knowing Jen she probably has the whole situation under control."

Merrick's eyes were glued onto the burning building; he gripped his hand tightly onto the sword that after the explosion had gotten thrown out and landed a few feet away from where they had been resting. "You two should go," he exclaimed. His voice was very direct and firm.

"What?" Eric turned to Merrick and started to approach him.

"You need to go!"

At first Eric didn't know what was behind Merrick's forceful words, until he saw with his own eyes a dark glowing figure coming out of the burning building. He started to reach for his blaster. "Shit!"

But Merrick stopped him and gave a hard look to Wes, telling him not to morph. "Your friend needs your help. I've got it from here."

"Are you sure?" asked Wes, all it took was one glace at the figure heading towards them to know this was even more dangerous and powerful than what they had faced inside.

"Yes. Go now, while you still have the chance." Merrick morphed right in front of them. "I'll be fine, trust me," and without another word Merrick, the silver Ranger, went charging at the figure that came from the fire.

Only for a moment did Wes and Eric watch, a part of them wanting to follow after, but knew they were needed elsewhere. "Think he'll be okay?" asked Wes.

"I think he knows what he's doing." Eric gripped Wes's shoulder. "Come on, we still have Ransik to take care of." And with that said the two took off, leaving behind their new-found friend, not knowing whether they would ever see him again.


	19. Dire Situation

"You knew, didn't you, Ancient?" hissed the dark shadow as he approached Merrick, his dark glowing eyes looming right at him. It was Takach, but he was different, more powerful and frightening in appearance. His body was covered with long pointy sharp horns and in his hands he held a large bone-like sword, similar to what Ransik used. "You knew what I was planning….."

It hadn't taken Merrick long to figure out what Takach had been planning. He had known about orgs long enough to know they can't be trusted. Not even by one who would be fighting the same fight as theirs. To them, Ransik had just been a pawn and once he had out grown his usefulness, well…. He knew if Takach was able to combine with Ransik there would be no stopping him. The two combined would just be too powerful, so he knew the only way to prevent that from happening was to take Takach down right there and now, and knew that Takach would have no choice but to combine with his two comrades, against their will. "Yes. I knew," Merrick circled around him, keeping his sword in hand and ready, not daring to take his eyes off the org, not even for a minute. "You should know by now, you can't win. Not as long as there are those around to stop you."

"You may have prevented me from joining with Ransik. But I still have more than enough power inside of me to take you out, ancient one,"

"We'll just have to see about that." Merrick knew he would have to hold it together and defeat this new form of Takach. He needed to give Eric and Wes all the time he could; if he was unable to defeat him then all would be lost. There would be no stopping Takach, it was going to be up to him. This was his chance to redeem himself for his past mistakes and for all those he had to leave behind all those years ago.

"Your confidence blinds you, ancient one." Takcach was determined to defeat and kill Merrick at all costs, even if he would go down with him it would be worth the price, just to defeat an ancient warrior of the past. His org brothers would be proud of him and he would be remembered by all orgs past and present, as the org that killed the last ancient.

"It is you that is blind, org," Merrick roared, as he continued to circle around him, sword in hand, ready for when he would have to make his move. "I can see right through you….. You are weak!" He waited a moment, staring right into Takach's eyes. "And your two comrades that you consumed know it."

Takach began to laugh; he liked this one. He was so much better than any of the warriors he had fought and defeated over the years. This one had sprit and honor, perhaps that was because at one time he had been one of them. "So we are the same then, just as I consumed my comrades, you consumed the greatest org there ever was."

"Zen-Aku is no longer a part of me, he has been stripped away and is only a memory." Merrick knew it wouldn't be long before the powerful org would bring up his troubling past; he had already known he was an ancient warrior, it was only a matter of time until his dark shadowy past came out. But he knew he couldn't let Takach get to him, not like he had gotten to Wes. He needed to stay focused and keep his mind cleared. "My mind proved to be stronger than his and I overcame him, but you, my friend, will not be able to do the same."

* * *

The battle inside the motel was getting fierce, as more and more cyclobots joined in on the fighting. The Rangers were getting weary and there looked to be no letup, it was either fight or die, as far as the cyclobots were concerned.

Alex and Katie fought side by side; both of their hearts were racing as they watched as bodies of cyclobots would crash through the walls and doors. So much damage had been done inside that anyone could easily be thrown through the walls, doors and broken windows. Even the ceiling was starting to show some wear; little trickles would fall down every so often on top of them, and it was getting worse.

"Alex, this building isn't going to hold up for much longer!" announced Katie, knowing that if they remained inside and the foundation of the ceiling fell on top of them, they'd all be history.

"I know." And he wasn't the only one, he knew the others knew it too, and while Taylor, Lucas and everyone down below would be fine for the time being, they however wouldn't be so lucky. But there was no telling how much time they had left before the ceiling would fall. And it wasn't like they could all jump out at once, at the very last second. It would be too risky. They would have to start going out a few at a time; chances are a few cyclobots would follow after, but he was hoping that a good number would remain inside while the ceiling fell, crushing every last one of them.

"So should we start making a break for it?" exclaimed Max.

"Start going two at a time." Alex turned to Max and Danny, who were surrounded by a group of five cyclobots, fighting them off and taking on others as they started to crowd around them. "Starting with you two, take out as many cyclobots as you can and then make a run for it." Alex then glanced over at Cole, who understood the situation very well. He might not know a whole lot about buildings, but he did know this one wouldn't last for much longer. "Cole and I will be the last to come out."

"I'm with you, Alex." Cole nodded his head and continued on with his battle with the cyclobots. He would make sure he took out as many as he could so that both his old and newfound friends would be able to get out safely. "Down to the last second."

"But Alex….." started Trip, as he took a moment to gather in his surrounding; while he knew the building's structure was unstable and they needed to get out of there as soon as possible, one part of it still concerned him. "What about the floor if the ceiling falls on top of it? I don't know if the floor's foundation will be able to handle it." And while in any other situation that wouldn't be a problem, in this case they had people down below who had no idea what was going on.

It was the one thing he didn't want to think about. Only moments before, he had sent both Taylor and Lucas down to go and assist Jen and whoever else was down there; if the ceiling fell and was too much for the floor to handle, it would cave in and likely kill everyone down there. "Let's just hope that doesn't happen." Alex gulped in heavily, because it brought another thing up, as to why he couldn't send anyone else. "Which is why I can't risk sending any of you down below. The mutorgs could still be out there and it's going to take everything we have to defeat them."

While Trip and the others knew he was right, they didn't like the idea of leaving their friends, having no idea what could happen in the next few minutes. All any of them could hope was that the floor would hold long enough for them to find a way out.

* * *

It was like a graveyard, as they walked down the halls, bodies and blood were everywhere. Though this had been something they both had expected, it didn't mean they were prepared for this.

"I can't believe this." Taylor bent down next to one of the Silver Guardians feeling for a pulse, but found none. "We were too late."

Lucas felt his heart sink, as they passed by more and more dead bodies of Silver Guardians. It seemed less and less likely that they would find Jen alive, given the condition of the others. Ransik would have killed her on the spot, no questions asked. But he wouldn't say it. He didn't want to believe, he couldn't believe, that she could be gone.

She didn't want to say it, but knew that if death was all they were going to find, then it was likely that could be their fate if they remained down here any longer. "Lucas, I hate to say it, but…."

Lucas quickly grabbed her and pulled her against a wall, as he heard footsteps and started to make out voices. He put his fingers to his lips, as they both leaned back against the wall and began to listen. The voices were muffled-sounding, as if they were behind some wall or something. Then they began to hear a banging noise, someone or something was banging against a door or a wall, from what they could make out. The Blue Ranger grabbed his blaster from his holster and signaled Taylor to do the same, as they slowly made their way to the noises, making sure to keep close to the wall to go unnoticed. "Let's go nice and easy…"

Inside the room where Jen and the others had been hiding, they waited knowing that at any second the door would bust open and all hell would break loose. Nadira kept close to the wall, holding James tightly in her arms, fully prepared to shield him from any threat that would enter inside. Jen and the Silver Guardians got ready, all in fighting stances, weapons ready and then……..complete silence, the banging stopped and all that could be heard was the faint sound of blaster fire.

"What's going on? Why'd they stop?" asked Nadira.

"I….I don't know," answered Jen. Had something happened to them, or was it just a trick and Ransik was waiting outside for them to come out? She had no way of knowing for sure, not without opening the door, but even then she wasn't too keen on going and opening the door. Not with the possibility that Ransik was waiting on the other side, ready to blast them to pieces.

One of the Guardians decided to make that decision and started to approach the door, fully intending to find out what had happened. Jen reached out to him and pulled him back away from the door. "No wait, it could be a trap!"

"_Jen?"_ called out a voice. _"Is that you?"_

It couldn't be? Jen powered down, her face going through every possible look of confusion and shock. It couldn't be who she thought it was, but it sounded so much like him. With everything that had happened, she should have suspected that Time Force would have sent someone out to look for her when she had gone missing, but still she never would have thought that they would send Lucas or any of the others, considering everything that had happened before and the memory adaptation. "Lucas?"

Not a moment later the door dropped down making a loud bang, a puff of smoke emerged and two figures could be seen, but it was difficult to make out who they were. The Guardians quickly pointed their blasters right at the two dark figures, not sure if the two new strangers could be trusted, even if their company appeared to know who one of them was. You can never be too careful these day, was their motto.

Jen, however, just stared, trying to get a better look, her eyes wide as the smoke began to fade away, and right away she recognized Lucas's blue uniform and a Yellow Ranger who wasn't Katie. She then realized that this Yellow Ranger must be part of Merrick's team. "It's all right. They're Power Rangers." Jen ran towards them. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you."

"Same here, Jen." Lucas demorphed and put his arms around her, giving her a tight hug, just enough to know she was alive and well. And that's when his eyes met with Nadira. "Nadira!" He quickly pulled away from Jen, pulled his blaster out and went straight for Nadira.

"No!" Jen grabbed a hold of Lucas. "Lucas, don't! She's on our side now." Jen pointed out the young child their former enemy held so tightly in her arms.

"It's the truth. I don't want to hurt anyone anymore," answered Nadira, hoping the softness and sweetness of her voice would be enough to convince Lucas that she had no intentions of harming any of them. All she wanted was for this nightmare to be over and be able to go back home and pay for her crimes.

Lucas took a moment to take all of this in, it was a lot to gather but from what he could tell Nadira did seem sincere, and for as long as he had known Jen she had never been one to forgive others so easily. So if Jen was willing to trust Nadira, perhaps he should too, or at least give her the chance to prove that she had indeed changed. "All right." he put away his blaster. "But just remember I've got my eyes on you, so don't try anything."

"I hate to break this up, but shouldn't we get the hell out of here?" announced Taylor, breaking the silence as the room began to shake around them and pieces of the ceiling began to fall around them.

"She's right," answered one of the Guardians. "The ceiling isn't going to hold for much longer."

Lucas had to agree, right now the best thing to do would be to get everyone out of here. As far as he knew the only ones alive down here were those in the room they were in now, which consisted of a few Silver Guardians, Taylor, Jen, Nadira, James and himself. He turned to Jen. "Have you seen Ransik?"

She shook her head. "Not for a while now, but I know he's down here, somewhere."

"Well, as much as I'd like to get a piece of him, it would be best if we all get out of here right now," announced Taylor, knowing that if anyone of them stayed down here in an attempt to take Ransik down, they would be crushed into pieces.

"I agree." Jen eyed Nadira. "You ready for this?" It wasn't that she knew Nadira wasn't ready to leave and go up above, but more if Nadira was ready to leave her father behind, knowing what she knew, that the floor could cave in and would probably kill him.

Nadira didn't answer, just shook her head, afraid of what she might say.

"All right, let's move out!" shouted Lucas. Taylor led the way as they dodged falling pieces of the ceiling and ran past a few cyclobots that tried to prevent them from escaping, but they all managed to make it past them with no problem.

Jen took up the rear with the Silver Guardians and Nadira, with baby James in the middle screaming his little lungs out. Lucas got a glimpse of a little light up ahead; they were nearing the way out. "We're almost there!" he called back to the others and stopped for a moment, wanting to get Nadira and James in front of him, whether it was because he didn't trust her or wanted to see to it that James made it out safely he didn't know, maybe it was a little of both.

The time was drawing near; they all knew that this building foundation wouldn't be much longer for this world as they reached the steps, their hearts were all relieved that they would all make it out alive, at least that was until...

"Oh no you don't, none of you are going to make it out of here!" A powerful blast drove over their heads, hitting the steps and causing parts of them to break to pieces. They all turned their heads to see Ransik just a few feet behind them, angry as ever.

"Ransik!" snarled Jen, as she drew out her blaster.

"Daddy!" cried Nadira as she clutched young James closely to her. Her heart was beating rapidly against her chest, in fear of what her father could do next.

"Nadira, I have never been so disappointed in you in all my life. Human are our enemies!"

She felt a few tears slip from her eyes and roll down her cheek. "They are your enemies, not mine," she answered. All her life her father had taught her to hate humans, but she had learned that mutants and humans were not as different as her father had led her to believe. The only thing she hated about this was that her father never would see the light of truth as she had. "I'm sorry, Daddy."

'Then you have chosen your fate, to die among these humans!" Angry for his daughter's defiance, Ransik began going on a rampage, blasting powerful blasts right at them, causing more pieces of the building to fall around them.

"We have to get out of here now!" shouted Taylor. "He's going to send the ceiling right onto us."

"This ends now, Ransik." Jen morphed quickly and pulled out her chrono saber; she tightened her fist around it and looked right at Ransik. "Lucas, get everyone out of here; I'll handle Ransik."

"But Jen, the building, it's going……"

"Just do it! That's an order!" She charged right for Ransik. "Your time is up, Ransik."

Lucas watched her go, full well knowing that this could be the very last time he would ever see her. He turned to the others, who were all motionless watching her, as she bravely and willingly went to sacrifice herself in order to save them. "You heard her…." He sighed heavily. "Let's get out of here." No one spoke a word as Taylor led them up the stairs and out the exit….

Outside they found Alex and the others fighting the remaining cyclobots, and went to go and join them in what was still a very fierce battle. Nadira ran a few feet ahead and got some cover for her and James behind an old broken down car. Lucas had signaled for the two Guardians to go join her, both for her and James' protection from the cyclobots and to prevent her fleeing away. While a part of him felt that Nadira was telling the truth, he knew it was going to take a lot more than Nadira holding a little boy to convince Alex.

"Where's Jen?" questioned Alex breathlessly, as he broke away from the cyclobots he had been fighting and joined up with Lucas.

"She's fighting Ransik."

"What!" Alex yelled. He got right into Lucas's face. "And you just left her there?" He couldn't believe that Lucas would just leave Jen alone like that, knowing very well that Ransik would stop at nothing to kill her.

"You think I wanted to…." He would have thought that Alex would know him better than to think he wanted to just leave Jen down there alone, fighting against that murderous monster. Of course he didn't want to leave Jen; she was one of his best friends. "She ordered me to leave, Alex. She's my commanding officer; I didn't have a choice."

As much as he didn't want to admit it, Lucas was right. Lucas didn't have a choice; he had to listen to Jen. She was hardcore and very demanding; you would have to be stupid to disobey one of her commands.

"Oh no!"

The sound of Trip's cry broke everyone out of the battle and their eyes all locked onto the motel that was shaking and making loud rumbling noises. Their hearts raced with fear; the building was going to collapse. "Oh no…." Alex took a few steps forward; he raised his morpher quickly up to his mouth. "Jen! Jen can you hear me..." His heart began racing with fear. "Damnit Jen, answer me, the building's going to collapse!" But she never answered and time wasn't on their side. Alex knew what he had to do. "That does it, I'm going in after her."

"But…." But there was nothing he could say, Lucas knew what Jen meant to Alex. She _was_ his whole world and though Jen didn't love him anymore, that didn't mean he didn't love her.

The sound of two voices and rushing of feet stopped Lucas, from trying to come up with something to say to prevent Alex from going inside, to what would only be a suicide mission. Both he and Alex turned around and were face to face with two young men, that Lucas has never seen both, or at least that is what he thought, but according to what Alex had told him, he knew both of these young men. "Your Wes and Eric…"

Wes ignored Lucas's comment. He didn't appear too concerned with getting reacquainted with his former teammate. Jen had already told him, that Lucas and the others had their memories erased and had no memory of ever knowing him. Right now it's thoughts were only of Jen and stopping Ransik.

"I'm going with you." Wes stepped forward, locking eyes with Alex. "Jen means just as much to me as she does to you."

Alex didn't say anything, just stared Wes in the eyes, motionless. He knew there would be no stopping him; one way or another Wes was going to follow him in. There would be no point in fighting it.

"You two better hurry up, that building won't hold for much longer," announced Eric. "We'll start looking for another way out for you guys, just in case the building doesn't hold." He bit his lips. "Just hope that floor will hold out a little longer."

No words were said between Wes and Alex; they just nodded their heads and ran towards the building, not knowing if they would ever see the light of day again. The only thing that mattered to them now was getting the woman they both loved more than anything out unharmed, and to put an end to Ransik once and for all.


	20. A Talk With Realization

Wes and Alex ran like they had never run before, both of them intent on getting to Jen in time and hoping that Ransik hadn't already ended her young life, because if he had, he would have one hell of a fight to put up with. Both Wes and Alex knew that if anything had happened to Jen it would be unlikely that they would show any mercy to Ransik, or at least it would be very difficult for either one to show it..

Just as they made it inside the building clasped into rubble, leaving their teammates shaking in fear, not knowing whether or not the two young men that had gone in after the woman they both loved had survived to make it down below. Even if they had, had the floors foundation held - and if it had, for how much longer?

His arm shaking and his heart racing, Eric didn't know what to think. He had just found out hours prior that Wes was alive and though the two were only starting now to become friends, he wasn't so sure he was ready to lose him, not now, not when they were so close to finally ending this and all of them finally being able to get their lives back on track. He knew more than anything that it would mean the world to Mr. Collins, that his son was alive all this time. But at the same time Eric knew, even after this was all over and everyone made it, that it was going to be a very long time until Wes would ever be the same again, if he would ever be the same again.

He raised his arm up, getting ready to speak, but then he realized that his wrist held no morpher. It was empty. _Damnit!_ Wes still had his morpher; he would be unable to make any contact with them. He turned to Lucas, Trip and Katie. "Well? What the hell are you waiting for?" he yelled as they stared at him blankly, still in shock over what had just happened. "See if they're okay, damnit!"

"Right." Lucas shook his head, snapping back to reality; everything had happened so fast that he had just frozen. They all pretty much had, all in total shock and distraught over what had just happened and fearful for what could have. He raised his morpher up to his face and pressed the communication button. _Please be okay_, he mumbled under his breath. "Alex….do you read me?"

Both Wes and Alex were a little dazed and confused, their Ranger suits and helmets covered in dust from head to toe. They were vaguely aware of Lucas's voice penetrating through Alex's morpher. Alex was getting ready to respond, when a loud crackling noise and a large puff of dust emerged above them.

"Run!" yelled Wes as he jumped to his feet and started to run forward, with Alex quickly running next to him, as part of the floor from above began to cave in on top of them, seeming about to crush both of them. But the floor was collapsing rapidly, much faster than their legs were willing to carry them. Quickly thinking, Alex grabbed a hold of Wes's shoulder and leaped forward, sending them several feet ahead, with the floor still falling, but just as they landed on the ground and watched as the floor fell, it stopped just a couple inches away from them. All was still, for now…. Their hearts could be at ease for the moment.

They both looked at each other for a moment, though neither one could see the other's face both could guess what the other was thinking. If they didn't find Jen soon and get out of here within the next few or so minutes, they would all be goners.

_"Alex, this is Lucas, please respond…."_

"You going to answer that?" asked Wes as he pushed himself to his feet and dusted the muck off of himself.

"I read you, Lucas," The sound from the unstable floor above them was starting to get worse, there was no telling when the next cave-in would start or even if it would be the last and final blow. This was getting more serious by the second. "Look, I don't know how much time we have left, but you and the others _need_ to find another way out for us. We're going to start to look for Jen."

_"Right, we're on it. …But exactly how much time do you think you have?"_

"A few minutes, give or take." Alex glanced over at Wes. "You have to hurry, Lucas, we're counting on you. Alex out…" He took a few minutes to gather his composure, knowing that time was something they both didn't have, something Jen didn't have. "Let's do this…"

"Right," answered Wes. Though he knew that he and Alex had issues, they would have to put those issues and feelings towards each other behind them for now. It would have to wait until they and Jen were all safely above ground. This was difficult for both of them, knowing how the other felt about Jen and each believing that they loved her more than the other, but both knew only one of them held Jen's heart, which made this all the harder for Alex.

"Well, you heard the man." Lucas glanced at the others. "Let's find them another way out."

"Wait!" Alyssa looked around and noticed somebody was missing. "Where's Merrick?" They hadn't seen or heard from him ever since he had left with Eric the day before, and when Wes and Eric had shown up moments ago Merrick wasn't with them.

"Where is he?" asked Taylor, walking up to Eric. Though she and Merrick weren't close, he was her teammate and someone she was proud to call friend, not to mention she didn't even want to think about how Princess Shayla would be if they came back without Merrick in one piece.

Eric didn't know what to say, so much death had already happened before his eyes and he knew the chances of Merrick still being alive were very slim. Whatever he had gone after appeared to be extremely powerful and he wasn't sure if Merrick alone could defeat it. He would have stayed behind, but he had no way to defend himself and Wes had been hurt and was fully determined to go find Jen. Not that Merrick objected to the idea, he had wanted to face this threat alone, as if it were something he had to do.

"Well….." Taylor got into his face. "We have a right to know what happened to Merrick."

"When Wes and I last saw him he was alive, but….."

"But…." Max questioned, not sure he liked where this was going. Already he could feel his stomach twist and turn and was vaguely aware of Danny gripping his shoulder.

"He went after something, said he wanted to fight it alone, told Wes and me to go."

One thing was for sure; they couldn't say Eric was lying about this. That had Merrick written all over it. He was the lone wolf Ranger, a man on a mission who felt like he owed everything to the world for what he had done all those years ago and had to do it on his own. No help from anyone.

"Do you know what it was?" asked Cole.

Eric bit his lip, he never did get a good look at it, but he had a few guesses. "I think it may have been one of the mutorgs, but I don't know for sure. It looked different, somehow."

Lucas, Katie and Trip all shared a concerned glance; though they were sure the others noticed no one seemed alerted by it, not when all their minds were on Merrick and whether or not he was okay.

"We should go after him, make sure he's all right. And even if he isn't, we _have_ to make sure that org doesn't live to see another day," announced Taylor.

"But wait, we still have to find a way out for Alex, Jen and Wes," added Katie, not wanting to forget about her friends and the other young man who at one time had been her friend in more ways than she had known.

"We should split up," announced Trip, knowing that all Rangers alike were important. 'Some of us should stay here and look for another way out and the rest should go help Merrick defeat the mutorg."

"All right, who's staying and who's going?" asked Lucas, staring them all down; they needed to straighten this out quickly, before it was too late for all of them….

* * *

Alex and Wes walked carefully through the darkness, with little light to guide them, both of them unmorphed. Not a whole lot had been said between them during the last few minutes. It had been complete silence. Nothing. Nothing could be heard, not even the sounds of a battle that might be going on between Jen and Ransik. That is if…._if _they were still alive.

Clutching at his chest where the bandages were heavily wrapped around him, Wes inhaled heavily; he winced at the pain of the pressure of his bruised ribs, it hurt even to breathe. The last thing he wanted to do was come across Jen's mutilated body, finding Ransik's would be one thing, but Jen…. Just the mere thought of it made him come to a stop. He took that pause to catch his breath and to relieve some pressure to his ribs.

"We have to keep moving," Alex announced as he turned around to face Wes. They didn't have the time to stop and rest, even now the ceiling above them was becoming more and more unstable with each passing minute. He glanced a moment at the bandages peaking out from Wes's open shirt and became aware that there must be some deep cuts underneath them, because blood was starting to soak through the bandages. "If I had known you were hurt I wouldn't have let you come."

Wes took a deep breath, ignoring the pain the best he could. "Yeah. Well, we both know I wouldn't have listened," answered Wes as he started to move again. "Not when Jen's involved."

"And that itself could be a problem."

"Meaning what?" asked Wes as he moved up ahead of Alex and stopped right in front of him.

"Meaning you're too emotionally involved." Alex glared Wes down, this wasn't the time or the place to be doing this, but Wes wasn't giving him much of a choice. This was a _talk_ that had been coming for both of them. "All you've got on your mind is getting Jen out of here, you don't care how banged up you are or how that will affect the mission."

"So you're saying that I should put my emotions and feelings about Jen behind me and concentrate on getting Ransik, no matter what."

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. If you're too emotionally involved, it can damage the mission."

Wes just shook his head, not believing what he was hearing. It was no wonder that Jen had ended things with Alex, how things had fallen apart for them. "And isn't _that_ exactly why things didn't work out for _you_ and Jen!" Wes stared him down now, wanting to make it perfectly clear that in some way Alex was dead wrong. "Because all you cared about was getting Ransik, you didn't care how you treated her or how she felt all those months, thinking you were dead. You didn't give a damn about her!"

"You think _that_ is why Jen broke it off with me?" Alex just shook his head. "You don't give yourself enough credit, Wes."

"Yeah, I'll admit I was part of the reason, but that's because I gave Jen what she needed." Wes pointed his finger right at Alex. "I was there for her! I put her first!" Ever since he had heard how he had treated Jen, he had wanted to give Alex a piece of his mind. "When did you ever put her first? Name one time."

"I….." And for the first time Alex didn't have an answer. He could not for the life of him think of a time when he had ever put Jen first. When they had first met and he had taken her under his wing, he had only worked with her after he was done with his duties. Even the day he had proposed to her he had said 'After Ransik is locked up….' It had always been only 'after' with them. Wes was right, as hard as it was to accept, he was right. Even after Ransik was put away, there would always be someone else and he knew that catching whoever that was would have come first. He loved his job, it was his life, but he should have put Jen first. He had loved her and still did to this day, but love hadn't been enough, she needed more. And Wes had given her what he couldn't, someone who would drop everything just for her.

Wes could see he had made his point, the look on Alex's face said it all. It made him a little guilty and even ashamed, because he knew that Alex loved Jen very much and never would intentionally hurt her. He was getting ready to say something when….

"NOOOO!"

Both of their hearts skipped a beat and fear struck in their eyes. _Jen_…. They both nodded their heads and ran as fast as their feet would carry them, hoping that they wouldn't be too late.

* * *

Taylor, Alyssa, Max, Cole and Lucas were the ones who had chosen to go and look for Merrick. It only seemed logic to leave the others behind to search for a way out for their friends trapped underground. Katie with her super strength, Danny with his muscles, Trip with his engineering skills which could come in handy, and Eric with his command skills, they would be able to work together to find a way out if there was one.

Though Lucas didn't like the idea of leaving his team behind, he knew it was important for them to work together. Not to mention the fact that if that thing was still out there, it needed to be taken care of. Although it was in the rules to bring criminals back alive, in practice this one was classified as bringing it in dead or alive.

"You should try contacting him," announced Lucas, as they walked through the ruins of the city, the light of dawn shining down on them.

"Obviously you don't know Merrick," answered Taylor.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Max walked up behind Lucas, wrapping his arm around his blue comrade. "Well, Merrick isn't exactly the social type. He kind of likes to keep to himself; we hardly ever see or talk to him."

"Huh….." Lucas for a moment almost felt like he knew what they were talking about, as if at some point he had known what that was like, but a moment later the thought was gone as if something inside his brain told him to forget it. A side effect of the memory adaptation no doubt. He had wondered how long it would last, if it would be forever… if his brain would tell him to forget something every time it came close to remembering those months he had lost.

A part of him wished he could go back, maybe stop the memory adaptation process from happening. He felt like a piece of him was missing, which was silly in a way since he had no real idea what was missing. All he knew was that months ago he and the others had been here, defending the city against Ransik, and had befriended Wes, who in return took care of them. That was all Alex had told them, just bits and pieces, only Jen knew what had gone on all those months.

"You okay, man?" asked Max, concerned. "Kind of lost you there for a minute."

"I'm fine," he smiled coolly. "No problems here."

"Maybe we should try, Taylor," announced Alyssa. "Merrick knows we would be looking for him."

"She's right, Taylor," added Cole. "We have to try." Though he knew that a part of what Taylor said was right: it was unlikely they would hear from Merrick, but given the situation on hand perhaps this one time their lone wolf friend would answer their call.

"All right, but I'm not holding my breath." Taylor raised her morpher. "Merrick, do you read, this is Taylor, come in." No answer. They waited for a few more moments, but still there was no answer, only silence from the other end. Nothing. The hard headed yellow Ranger just shook her head. "See, I told….."

_"I read you…."_

"Are you all right?"

_"I'm fine…."_ Though his voices sounded winded and weak, it didn't sound life threatening. Then again, Merrick would do all he could to hide the fact that he might be hurt.

"Did he destroy that monster?" exclaimed Alyssa, hopeful that the thing had finally been put an end to.

Taylor was getting ready to ask that, when... _"It's finished… It won't be hurting anyone anymore."_

"You just hang in there, Merrick, we're coming to you," announced Cole.

"Alright!" Max jumped in the air, overjoyed with excitement. "I knew he would do it!"

Lucas was silent for a moment. He had something else on his mind, pertaining to Merrick and the given situation and his own thoughts. It seemed to him unlikely, no matter how great a fighter Merrick might be, that he alone would have been able to stop the powerful mutorg, but at the same time he did not want to ruin their happiness that their friend and teammate was fine. But, given everything that had happened he felt that it was important to bring it up. "How do we know it was him?"

Silence….. Lucas' voice rang in and killed the parade of happiness with just a few words. "What the hell do you mean?" Taylor got right into his face. "Of course it was him, that was Merrick's voice."

"I realize that, but how do you think those things escaped from my time in the first place? They're tricky." Lucas could see that none of them liked where this was going and he couldn't blame them, he didn't like it any better than they did. "Look, I'm just saying we should be careful, go with caution."

Taylor looked like she was about to right hook Lucas in the face. She couldn't believe what Lucas was saying. He didn't know anything about Merrick. He had no idea what kind of warrior he was or anything at all.

"He's right." Taylor turned and looked right at Cole. "We should keep our eyes open, just in case."

"You're telling me you're going to trust this guy over your own teammate?"

"We're all on the same side here, Taylor." Cole licked his lips; it had been difficult for him taking over as leader when Taylor at times still felt like she was the leader or still felt like she should be. "We're all in this together."

"Yeah." Taylor turned to Lucas, looking him coldly in the eyes. "For your sake, let's hope you're wrong about this."

"That makes two of us." Lucas crossed his arms against his chest staring her back in the eyes, giving her the same coolness.

"And I thought Taylor met her match with Eric," whispered Max to Alyssa, recalling how things hadn't gone well with them either. But then again, Taylor had that effect on just about everyone.


	21. The Rescue

Wes and Alex ran towards the frantic voice, morphing in the process; it wasn't long until they found the source of the voice. Both of them stopped dead in their tracks, to see a horrifying sight: Jen, _their precious Jen_, was in the clutches of Ransik. He had one arm with his sword wrapped tightly around Jen's neck, pressing the blade of the sword against her skin. His other arm and sword were around her waist, she was unmorphed and weakened from the battle she had been fighting against Ransik.

"Jen!" The two men looked at each other, unsure of what to do. If they tried to attack Ransik head on that would only result in Jen's death. Alex quickly drew out his blaster, fully determined to take Ransik out and get Jen out of his deadly grasp.

"Not so fast." Ransik brushed the sword against Jen's neck, cutting it lightly, watching as the blood dribbled down. "Toss your weapons over or I will kill _her_." He looked to the Quantum Ranger, seeing that he was reaching for the Quantum Defender. "That means you too, Quantum Ranger."

"Don't do it. Just shoot him!" yelled Jen. She knew that Ransik wouldn't keep his word, there was no way he would let her go alive and she knew that they both knew it, while she knew she could count on Alex doing just that, she also knew Wes would have second thoughts about it.

"Silence!" Ransik kneed her in the shin, and caught Jen before she dropped to the ground. He once again eyed the two Rangers. "Don't underestimate me, Rangers," he hissed. "I would love nothing more than to put an end to this dear little pinky who has caused me numerous problems."

Alex, Red Ranger looked at Jen, though she couldn't see it and he thanked God she couldn't, he was terrified. For the life of him, he couldn't put his emotions behind him, not like he used to, not with Ransik holding Jen captive and able to end her life at any moment. _Damnit! Damnit Wes, why do you have to be right!_

Alex looked to Wes, nodding his head; together the two tossed their weapons over. "All right, Ransik, let her go, we're unarmed," announced Alex.

"Not quite." He brushed his thumb against Jen's cheek, getting a sensation of watching Jen quiver in fear. He watched as both Rangers clenched their fists together and how it took everything they had to stay back and remain still. "Demorph, now." He looked over at the Quantum Ranger. "Besides, I want to see who you are; you have caused me nothing but problems."

Both Wes and Alex knew the moment they demorphed it would be all over, Ransik would have them. They could try to overpower him together, but in Wes's weakened state it wouldn't be long before Ransik took charge. But if they didn't do as he said it most definitely would result in Jen's death. A risk neither one was willing to take.

When they didn't make a move, Ransik again had to show them that he meant what he said; he ran his sword against Jen's waist, cutting it. A slightly deeper cut than before.

Jen gasps light, though she wasn't screaming and was holding it together to stay strong, it was more than Wes could handle. He was the first to break. "All right! All right….. Stop! You win." Wes stepped forward and demorphed, ignoring both Alex' and Jen's pleas not to. "Power down!" The demorphing brought a surge of pain to Wes's chest, he clutched at his chest tightly as he looked Ransik directly in the eyes.

Ransik couldn't believe his eyes. "Impossible, I killed you. I watched you die." He could remember clearly digging his sword into Wes chest, hearing the painful cries as he went deeper and deeper, watching as the blood poured out. "You should be dead." In his disbelief that Wes had somehow miraculously survived he slowly started to loosen his grip around Jen, something Alex had taken notice of.

"Guess I got lucky then." Even Wes had begun to notice that Ransik had let his grip around Jen slowly lessen. He didn't have to turn around to know that Alex was coming up with something to do. He just needed to give him a little more time.

"Even you aren't that lucky," spat Ransik.

Wes narrowed his eyes at Ransik. "I am, thanks to someone's _daughter_. If it weren't for her, I would be dead."

"What!" Ransik was totally unaware he had let go of Jen completely in his anger. "She would never save the likes of you, a human!"

"Hate to be the one to break it to you," Wes clenched at his chest, "but she saved more than just me, that day."

Ransik was at a loss of what to say or do. He had never imagined in all his years that his own daughter, his flesh and blood, would turn against him. Not after everything he had done for her.

Seeing his chance. "Now, Jen!" yelled Alex.

Jen broke away from Ransik, kicking him hard in the gut and slamming into the wall. She then ran right into Wes's arms, wrapping her arms tightly around him, giving Alex enough time to reclaim both his and Wes's blasters, and get a direct shot at Ransik stunning him, giving both Wes and Jen time to regroup.

"You okay?" Wes ran his hands over her arms, staring into her face, thankful to have her back safely in his arms.

"I'm fine." She looked at the bloodstained bandage around his chest, concern filling her eyes. "What about you, are you okay?" He seemed to be holding it together okay, but given everything that had happened, the last person Wes would be worried about was himself.

"I'll let you know once we get out of here."

"No one will be getting out of here!!!" roared Ransik, throwing a powerful blast right at the three.

"LOOK OUT!!" shouted Alex.

* * *

Mace marched into Mr. Collins' office, his face alert and his heart racing. He knew Collins didn't like to be interrupted, but given the situation and the news that had just been brought before him; he knew his boss would want to hear about it.

"Sir!"

Collins looked up, irritated, from his work. The last thing he wanted was interruptions, it had been over a day since he had last heard from Eric and he was beginning to worry that the same fate that had found his son might have now found Eric, who in a way had become like a son to him. "Mace, I thought I told you….."

"He's alive, sir."

"What?" Collins wasn't sure what Mace was talking about. "What are you talking about - who? Who's alive? Eric?"

"No…. I mean yes." He was so full of excitement that he couldn't keep his words straight. "Eric's fine, as far as I know, but that's not who I was talking about, sir." Mace looked Collins right in the eyes, knowing that the moment when Collins learned that Wes was alive, that everything was going to be okay again.

"Then who are you talking about……" In the pit of his stomach he knew, but even then he didn't want to get his hopes up. It just wasn't possible, it had been months, he would have been hurt badly, there was just no way. "You don't mean….." tears filled his eyes.

"Yes sir, your son….. He's alive."

"But… but how? How do you know?"

Mace opened the office door to let in three of the Silver Guardians who had been presumed dead, like Wes had been. Also entering the room was Nadira, holding young James in her arms, who seemed much calmer than he had been just a couple of hours ago. Collins didn't know what to think, he stared at Nadira, not knowing how to react.

"It's all right, sir," answered one of the Guardians. "If it wasn't for Nadira we'd all be dead, including Wes. She saved his life."

Collins was too overjoyed with the knowledge of his son being alive to even care why Nadira was there in the room with them. "But if he's alive, then where is he?"

The Guardians and Nadira looked at each other. While Wes had been alive all this time and was when they had left him, one question remaining was, was he still alive? They had wanted to wait it out until they knew for sure, but everyone thought it was best to get Nadira and James out of the city and bring them here safely to Turtle Cove. Then one thing led to another and another and they had no choice but to tell them.

Collins recognized that look. "What? What is it?"

* * *

Trip began to get that uneasy feeling, like something horrible had just happened. The look of horror was all over his face, his heart was racing and everyone had seen the look on his face, but only one of them knew what it meant.

"What's his problem?" asked Eric, crossing his arms against his chest, not happy that everyone had stopped the search for a second way out due to Trip's sudden flash of panic.

"He's had a vision." Katie pointed out the gem on Trip's forehead, and ran towards her young green friend, terrified about what he might have seen. She quickly put her arms around him in a motherly way, like she had so many times in the past. "What is it, Trip, what did you see?"

"Wait a sec, he's a psychic?" exclaimed Danny.

"Not exactly, my understanding is he's a Xybrian," answered Eric, recalling the time when Trip had revealed the gem on his forehead that had been hidden under his hat.

"A what?" Danny had heard of a lot of strange things, but this had to be the strangest. "So he's like an alien from another planet?"

"Yeah." Eric just shook his head. "For a guy that's been fighting strange creatures called _orgs_, you seem pretty surprised to find that life exists on another planet."

"Will you two knock it off!" yelled Katie, knowing that Trip needed complete silence in order to concentrate on his vision, to fully understand just what he had seen. "Just take your time, Trip."

"Take your time!" Eric spat and got right into their faces. "We don't have time; every minute we waste waiting for greenboy to get his head together, wastes another minute that could kill them!"

"You think I don't know that? You're not the only one with a friend down there!" Katie shouted, getting into Eric's face. The situation was grim, the battles might be over, but lives still hung in the balance.

Eric was getting ready to lash back with a comeback, when….. "Stop it!" yelled Trip. The two turned to face him; Danny was by his side, his face horrified. "We have to hurry, they're in trouble. Big trouble!" The look on Trip's face said it all, something terrible had happened and they needed to move fast. Eric felt as if his heart skipped several beats; not long ago had they sent the Guardians and Nadira away back to Silver Hills to inform Collins on the situation, to tell him that his son was indeed alive, had been all these months. And now that could all be shattered.

* * *

Cole carefully led the others to the whereabouts that Merrick had told them to go to. All seemed quiet. Too quiet, but then again the place had been abandoned for months. There would be no noise, but an eerie uneasy feeling surrounded this place, a place that left an unsetting feeling in the pit of their stomachs. While the voice had indeed sounded like Merrick's, Lucas had pointed out that this could also be a trap. They needed to stay alert and ready for anything, just in case their young lone friend had met his match.

"This is it," announced Cole, looking around; it was gloomy in what should have been a beautiful downtown city, looking like a ghost town, not even the sun could bring light into this city. "I think…." Cole couldn't be sure, no matter where you went it all looked the same, abandoned buildings, destruction in every direction, smoke, the reek of death.

"No, you're right." Taylor looked around, recognizing the street sign as being the one that Merrick had said to go to. "This is the place."

"If it is," Max walked around trying to get a better feel of their surroundings, hoping to find Merrick or something to tell them that he was indeed here, "then where is he?"

"You don't think something happened to him since we talked to him. Do you?" exclaimed Alyssa, afraid of the answer. Though Merrick had said he was fine, that was over several minutes ago and something could have happened since then.

No one answered. They too were unsure and afraid of the answer. Taylor walked up to Lucas, who was taking in the sights, trying to find something, anything. She gripped his shoulder. "What do you think?" She hated to admit it, but maybe he had been right, maybe this was just a trap, maybe Merrick was indeed gone and it had been the mutorgs that had brought them here.

"I don't know what to tell you." He turned to face her, his face sympathetic. "I can't even tell you how the battle may have happened, not when the whole area had been consumed with so many battles months prior. I don't even know if they're alive or dead."

"Then all we can hope for is that Merrick destroyed that monster." Taylor didn't know what else to think. There was nothing here for them, no signs, nothing. "We should head back, see if they got the others out."

"Yeah," Lucas sighed.

They all started to head back as a group, when a dark shadow appeared behind them. "Oh, don't leave now, the fun has just begun…." it hissed.

They all stopped dead in their tracks and slowly turned around to be faced with a monster unlike any they had ever seen. It looked like an org, but yet it didn't. He was more hideous then Master Org or anything they have ever faced his the past. His eyes sent chills throughout their bodies. He had massive sharp horns all over his arms and back. His body was massive and large; they could clearly see his mussels.

"Wh- That can't be an org!" exclaimed Max. "Can it?"

"Oh but I am, blue warrior, the most powerful you have ever faced."

"Where's our friend!" shouted Alyssa.

The mighty org leader just grinned and glared at all of them, not saying a word. Taylor stepped forward, fist clenched together. "She asked you a question. What'd you do with Merrick?"

"I'm afraid the ancient warrior you know as Merrick has met his fate, like those before him." He didn't take his eyes off of them. He would push them over the edge and then make his move. "I want you to know he fought bravely, but was unable to succeed in defeating me."

Cole had had about enough; his body filled with fury and he rushed over to Taylor's side. "Liar! He's alive!"

"Am I?" he hissed, his eyes glowing brightly as he stared them all down, wanting to watch as the fear inside of them grew. "Then why not face me and see just how powerful I am?"

Max didn't know what to do, this org was by far unlike any he had ever been faced with before, so intelligent, taunting, a living nightmare. He felt his heart pounding against his chest. He tried not to be afraid, but couldn't help it. This thing said he had killed Merrick and that appeared to be true. If it could kill Merrick it would have no problem killing each of them. He quivered over to Taylor and rested his hand on her shoulder. "Taylor, wh-what are we going to do?"

Taylor didn't know what to do. She looked at Cole who stood in front of her, he was determined not to believe that Merrick was dead, as the mutorg had stated. She gulped in heavily, needing to come to her senses. "We take him down." She looked from Max to Alyssa. "It's what Merrick would have wanted."

"But Taylor, you heard what he said….." exclaimed Alyssa.

"It doesn't matter. The Princess chose us to defend the Earth. It's _our_ job to stop this thing. No matter what happens!"

Lucas stood off to the side, watching his surroundings, staying alert just in case there was anything else around. He didn't need anyone to tell him that things were bad. Just looking at this monster, this org…mutorg, he knew it was far more powerful than Ransik ever could be. He joined Cole and pulled out his badge, now it was time for him to do his job. "You're under arrest, you can come in quietly or be brought in the hard way!"

"Hah….." the mutorg laughed at the Time Force officer. "Foolish defender of the future, even your high-tech weapons won't be able to stop me. How else do you think _I_ was able to break out of your prison?"

Lucas put away his badge and smirked. "Well then, I guess we're just going to have to kill you then…"

"Doesn't that go against your code?"

"Yeah, but we're not in my jurisdiction, we're in _theirs_. Time Force code doesn't apply here ….at least not to you." Lucas kept his eyes locked on him, wanting the mutorg to keep full focus on him. "You've been classified as 'bring in dead or alive', whichever comes first. The choice is yours."

"What the hell are you doing, Lucas, you're only making him more pissed off!" announced Taylor. If there was one thing she had learned from being a Ranger, fighting orgs, the last thing you wanted to do was to piss one of them off.

Cole was about to say something when he caught onto what Lucas was doing. He had only seen a glimpse of something moving in the shadows, but his senses told him that whatever was moving fast and quick in the shadows was on their side. "Yeah, so what will it be, you sorry piece of shit?"

Max was blown away and looked from Taylor to Alyssa. "Did Cole just….."

"I've had enough of this; it's time for you to DIE!!" The mutorg's eyes burned with darkness and sparks began to emerge around him; he was getting ready to throw a deadly energy blast of destruction at them, when….

"You first!" cried out a voice.

"What?" he turned around and saw Merrick, the lone wolf Ranger, behind him. "You're alive….?"

"So sorry to disappoint you!" Without even thinking Merrick blasted at him, his weapon set to kill. It combined with the powerful blast the mutorg had yet to unleash; it consumed him and became too much for him to handle. The Rangers were all vaguely aware of Merrick crying out to them to seek cover.

They all watched as the power consumed him and he dropped to the ground in what became a powerful blast, full of light, nearly blinding them all. And once it cleared all that was left was burning pieces of the mutorg that only moments ago had threatened all of their lives.

"And I thought the fireworks on Fourth of July were awesome," exclaimed Max, as he picked himself up.

"Merrick, you're alive!" cried Alyssa as she ran over to him and threw her arms around him.

For a moment he was slightly uncomfortable; for so long he had pushed them all away, hoping that they would take the hint that he didn't need them, not after everything he had done, all the pain and horror, but that didn't seem to matter to them. They truly wanted to be his friends, be his family, something he had lost long ago and thought he could never have back. Perhaps today would be the start of a new beginning. He could start over, build new relationships …..and maybe even work on old ones. He returned Alyssa's hug, grateful for her friendship and kindness.

"That was a nice shot there," announced Cole, holding out his hand, a big grin on his face.

Merrick shook Cole's hand and nodded his head. "Thanks. Sorry I had to cut it so close."

Taylor turned to Lucas, looking at him, surprised. "Did you know?"

"I just knew we had to be ready for anything."

"So it's over then, we beat the bad guys and saved Silver Hills," exclaimed Max.

"Almost…" announced Lucas, knowing that one thing still remained.


	22. End is Near

The dust had settled down and the little light that was still visible from the barracks came back into vision. Wes pushed the boulder off of his body, taking a deep breath and clenching his teeth in pain as his bandages became exposed. He was still a little dazed from what had just happened, the last thing he remembered was Ransik getting ready to attack; he had shielded Jen with his body. _Jen…._

"Jen!" Ignoring his injuries, Wes frantically began looking for Jen, and that's when he noticed the still body lying against him. With the little strength he had left he lifted another boulder off to reveal Jen. The boulder had hit her head, there was blood all over the side of her face and her hair, and the cut was very visible. Wes could hear Jen moaning softly, but couldn't make out the words. He ran his hand through her hair. "Hang in there Jen; I'm going to get you out of here."

Wes stood up, determined to find a way out, but the moment he stood his legs gave away and he dropped to the ground. He felt a sensation of pain in his side; he clutched at it and felt something wet. He looked at his hand to see it covered in blood and a piece of metal sticking out. "Ah man…." _Not good….._ He knew he should pull it out, but he also knew if he pulled it out he could bleed out even more.

"Wes…." Something moved just a couple of feet up ahead. "Is that you?"

Wes watched as someone came walking forward in the dark, limping slightly as he came into the light. It was Alex; he looked pretty banged up, but otherwise okay. He hadn't gotten the full impact from Ransik's blast. "Yeah, it's me."

"Is Jen with you?"

"Yeah. ….But….." His heart was racing, pounding hard against his chest, he wasn't sure if it was due to all the blood he has lost or if it was Jen's dire need of help; maybe it was both. "She won't wake up!" His voice was muffled and near tears.

Alex made his way over to Wes, trying to get there as fast as he could, but even a few feet were difficult. His leg has gotten hit pretty badly when he tried to take cover from Ransik's blast; the force of the impact had sent him flying. Once he had reached the two he saw Jen lying still, her eyes closed, and Wes kneeling next to her holding her hand. "You're not doing so hot either," announced Alex, noticing Wes's half unraveled bandages that were soaked in blood and his pale sweating face. He looked half dead.

"Forget about me! Just help me get Jen out of here." Wes gently grabbed one of Jen's arms and put it over his shoulder. All he could hope right now, was that Jen was going to be okay. He had done all he could, but even that didn't seem to be enough. "I tried to protect her….b-but…I…I….."

"She'll be okay, Wes!" Alex soon followed his lead and did the same with Jen's other arm. "Nice and easy now." He knew if they moved too fast it wouldn't be good for any of them.

It was painful, but he pushed the pain inside and concentrated on Jen and getting her out of here. He didn't care how off bad he was. He didn't care if this would kill him, as long as he got Jen out of here alive that was all that mattered to him. They took a few steps at a time moving themselves closer up ahead, hoping that once they reached the end, their friends would be there waiting for them with open arms. "Did you see Ransik at all?"

Alex shook his head. "No. All we can hope is he's under all the rubble somewhere. Dead…."

"Think again, Rangers!" There was a loud CLANG, a moving of some rubble.

Alex and Wes slowly turned around and all their hopes were shattered; Ransik was still alive and wasn't about to go down, not without a fight. Even though his mask was gone and his distorted bloody face revealed, he was still determined to continue on with the fight until they were all dead, nothing but a memory.

"You didn't think you would get rid of me that easily, did you? If I'm going to die, I'm going to take all of you with me!"

Wes turned to Jen, her head rested on his shoulder while her body hung limp. She couldn't fight, she couldn't even stand. She'd be nothing but target practice to Ransik. "Haven't you done enough?" Wes looked back to Ransik. "How many more lives are you going to take? How many more are you willing to kill for your cause?"

"Not nearly as many as _you_ have…." Ransik hissed.

"What….?"

"Wes, don't listen to him…."

"Or have you forgotten how many lives you destroyed, by sending the others back, Wes…." Ransik snickered and his glare sent chills down Wes's back. "If you hadn't, then maybe none of this would have ever happened. Maybe you would have won, maybe she…" he pointed to Jen, "wouldn't have to die a horrible death in the darkness, hearing the screams of her lovers…." Ransik stepped closer. "But no, you did just as I wanted you to do. I knew without them, the city would fall."

And then an eerie feeling came over Wes, more horrible than he ever imagined. His heart nearly stopped. "It was you…. You're the one who sent me that message! It was you all along….'

A wide evil grin covered Ransik's face, more devious then ever imaginable. "Yes. You see, I knew that if I played with your emotions hard enough, you would send them back, leaving the city defenseless. I knew the love for your friends, for _her,_ meant everything to you." He got right into Wes's face, breathing his hot muggy breath onto him. "You see, my dear Ranger, you're even worse than I am. I was fighting for something to help more than just me, but you were willing to sacrifice everyone's lives, just to save your lover."

"Wes, don't…." Ales started; though he didn't know everything, he could pick up little bits and pieces from what Ransik was saying.

"No!" Wes bowed his head down. "He's right…. All I cared about was that Jen was safe." Wes gently pushed Jen closer to Alex. "Get her out of here, Alex." He turned back to Ransik. "Ransik and I have some unfinished business!"

"No one is getting out of here alive!"

Wes moved in front of Alex, who now had Jen's limp form in his arms. His heart was racing. He knew there was no way in the condition that he was in, that he even stood a chance against Ransik alone. "Let them go, Ransik, this is between me and you." He licked his lips. "Besides, if you kill me, you'll still be able to go after them."

Ransik clenched his fists. "Fine. I'll give them a running start. It won't take long for me to finish you once and for all."

Wes got into a fighting stance; he was ready to do what he had been ready to do all these months, take down Ransik for the monster he really was, even if that meant he'd go down with him.

"Wes, there's no way…."

"Please…. Get Jen out of here, keep her safe."

"What am I supposed to tell her?" Alex gently picked Jen up with both of his arms. He knew Wes was right, that Jen needed to get out of there now, but what was he going to say once they were safe? When she woke up and asked where Wes was, what was he supposed to tell her?

"Tell her that I'm sorry." Wes glanced at Alex, maybe for the last time. "And that I love her." And with that said, Wes went raging at Ransik, morphing in the process, knowing he would only have a few short minutes until he would go into a forced demorph due to his weakened state.

"Damnit, Wes!" With a heavy heart, Alex did what Wes asked him to, but not before promising that he would come back for him once Jen was safe. "I'll come back for you, that's a promise!" He owed that much to Jen.

* * *

Above, Danny, Katie and Eric urgently began lifting the boards of wood and rubble off the ground, to reveal another entrance. It was several hundred feet away from the motel; they didn't know for sure if this was what could be another way into the motel barracks, but it was all they had to go on. All they could do was hope. Trip seemed certain that this was the place, but sometimes his visions were wrong - or not exactly right.

"Should we go down there?" asked Danny, as he, Katie and Eric lifted off the large metal panel and moved it to the side. According to Trip something terrible had or would happen; he didn't know exactly what, only that it was bad. He looked down inside, but could see nothing but darkness, an unsure hope.

No one said a word, they weren't sure if they should go down there or what they would find if they did, if they too would become trapped down there like their friends or even die. Wanting to be sure before they did anything, Katie raised her morpher up to her mouth. "Alex, do you read me….?"

There was no answer, so Katie tried again and again, and after what seemed like an eternity: "I read you!"

Katie looked at her morpher, a little confused. A big grin came onto Trip's face; Alex's response hadn't come from the morpher. They all looked down into the hole to see Alex standing below them, Jen in his arm. "Help lift her out!"

Together the three pulled Jen out of the barracks and gently laid her on the ground. Katie quickly checked Jen over. "Just a concussion, she'll be fine." She looked up to the others.

"Okay, let's get you and Wes out of there." Eric knelt down and held out his arm, but Alex made no attempt to grab it. And that's when Eric noticed that Wes was missing. "Where's Wes?"

Alex didn't know how to answer that, though it hadn't been that long since he had left Wes with Ransik, there was no telling what could have happened in that amount of time. "I've got to go get him."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"He's fighting with Ransik." Alex sighed heavily. "Wes was hurt pretty bad, Eric. I don't know what I'll find."

Eric jumped down into the barracks. "I'm going with you!"

"What are we supposed to do?" asked Trip, looking down at them.

"Get Jen to a hospital." Alex gulped in heavily. "Hopefully we'll see you there."

"Be careful," Katie glared at them both, "both of you!" They watched as Alex and Eric disappeared into the darkness.

Danny carefully picked Jen up, making sure to support her head. Though there didn't appear to be anything else wrong with Jen, there was no way of knowing. They needed to get to a hospital, and fast, and with Silver Hills being deserted they would have to go to the next city, which was in Turtle Cove, a good distance away on foot.

"We better get moving, guys," announced Trip.

_"Katie, Trip…. Do you read?"_

It was Lucas. Katie responded into her morpher. "We read you, Lucas. Is everything okay?" Everyone shared a concerned glance, hoping that this time around would be some good news.

_"Yeah. We're all fine, Merrick too. Did you get the others out?"_

"We got Jen back, but she's hurt, we have to get her to a hospital."

_"What about Alex and Wes…."_

"Alex and Eric went back in for Wes; I…I think something happened." Though Alex hadn't said much about Wes's condition, it was more than enough to make him want to go back, risking his life to save someone who was his rival.

"What's that?" Trip looked up ahead and saw flashing lights and sirens heading towards them. They were all soon surrounded by trucks and two ambulances.

_"Katie, what's going on?"_

"I think it's some help…" Katie couldn't be sure; it could be just another trick. She waited a few moments and watched as one of the truck doors opened and a Silver Guardian appeared; she had recognized the uniform right away.

"Mr. Collins sent us," announced the Silver Guardian, soon he was followed by more and a medic team, that rushed over to Jen. "Thought you guys could use some help."

"Lucas, can you and others meet us back here….."

* * *

"Time for you to die!"

Ransik slashed Wes and his body went turning and slammed against the wall. Wes's body plopped to the ground as he went into a forced demorph. Pain… That was all he felt. He was sure something was broken; he could barely move as he watched Ransik hunch over him, pressing his foot against his side, pressing the piece of metal deeper into his wound.

"Ahhhh!" Wes cried out in pain; he was starting to lose focus, black spots began closing in. Hot tears ran down his face because the pain was so intense. He tried to get up; he tried to lift Ransik's foot off of him but couldn't. He wanted so badly to make Ransik pay for everything, for all the pain and suffering.

"Give up. It is futile to try and resist me." Ransik pointed his sword right above Wes's neck. "Your end is near."

There was nothing he could do except watch the point of the sword move closer and closer, getting ready to make the kill. He had failed…. Wes closed his eyes, just wanting death to come to him. He wanted the nightmare just to be over, he only wished he could hold Jen once more in his arms, kiss her gentle lips one final time, and tell her with all his heart how much he loved her.

"Goodbye, Ranger!" Ransik flung his sword at Wes.

"NO!" two voices rang out, screaming. It was Alex and Eric, who had come to the rescue, apparently too late…..

But just as Ransik's sword was about to make contact with Wes, an amazing and yet horrifying thing happened. The Quantum Morpher began lighting up, much like it had once before, when Wes had been near death. A bright light shone and a powerful force emerged around them. Alex's eyes widened in horror….

"Get down!" Alex shoved both himself and Eric to the ground.

"What's going on? What is this?" Ransik was confused, this had never happened before. He could barely see Wes; he was blinded by the brightness.

Wes could feel his breathing steady just a little; he squinted his eyes and could see Ransik's confused and terrified look. He knew very well what was happening, it had happened once before, with _devastating_ results. "I'm sorry, Nadira…." He hadn't planned on this happening, he had hoped there could be another way, but it seemed Ransik had chosen this to be his fate. For what seemed like the first time ever, Wes heard Ransik scream, a horrifying and deathly scream that never in his life he thought he would ever hear; it was almost too much for him to handle. He felt his heart racing, and then the screaming stopped and the light disappeared in a flash. He could feel the pain in his body returning and the exhaustion, but just before he closed his eyes he watched as Ransik's now mangled body dropped to the ground and watched as the once mighty, powerful mutant closed his eyes…..

Slowly, Eric and Alex picked themselves up, dusting their clothes off. "What the hell was that?"

"A defense mechanism. Whenever the user of the Quantum Morpher is under grave stress or pain of the body, the morpher goes into overload defense-mode."

Eric looked over at Ransik, who lay completely still, most of the armor that had once covered his body was no more. It appeared as though Ransik was no more. "So Ransik is….."

"Dead…." Alex nodded his head. "Nothing can survive that kind of blow."

"What about W……" The underground began shaking and little bits and pieces began falling down on them, giving them full warning that they didn't have much time left.

"We've got to get out of here, now!" Alex and Eric quickly ran for Wes and grabbed his body, and ran as fast as their legs would carry them as the ceiling above them started crumbing down. Alex briefly looked behind him over at Ransik; there had been no time to get him out and since Alex didn't have the right equipment on him, he couldn't even contain him. He watched as a piece of ceiling fell onto the mutant, the man, who had turned his whole world upside down. He thought he would feel some relief to know that Ransik was finally gone, finished for good. But….that still didn't change a thing. Jen would never be his again, her heart belonged to the half-dead man he had risked his own life to save.

"We're almost there," Eric announced, seeing light up ahead; that was enough for them to quicken their pace. "Just hang in there, just a little longer…" as everything behind them, everything was collapsing.


	23. Aftermath

"Hey…" Alex gently brushed a few loose hairs from Jen's face, as he smiled down at her. She had been resting comfortably ever since she was brought to Turtle Cove Medical General. Not too long after she was placed in a room, Alex had returned from the time ship where he had gathered the right medical treatment to help Jen's wounds heal faster, and even took something to help with his leg.

Jen blinked a few times until her vision focused, and she found Alex staring down at her, his smile very content that she had awakened. "Hey yourself." Though she knew where she was, she wasn't quite sure how she had gotten here; it was all still a blur. "The last thing I remember was Ransik….. Wes protected me and then something hit my head…." She attempted to glance around the room, hoping to find Wes, but he was nowhere to be found, only the man who shared his face. In the pit of her stomach she feared the worst, and Alex must have taken note of that, because he quickly took hold of her hand and squeezed it gently. "Alex….please tell me he's all right…"

Alex took a deep breath and bit his lip. "Wes had a rough night……but he's going to be all right. ……Physically anyway." He turned his head away, almost wondering himself if perhaps it would have been better if Wes had died. Not because if Wes was out of the picture he could still have a chance with Jen - Alex knew that possibility was long gone, it would never be, too much had changed between them for them to ever get back to where they were. No, it was because of what Wes would have to live with….._his guilt._

"Physically?" Jen wasn't sure what had caused Alex to turn away, especially over something involving Wes. She had known that for a long time Alex had resented the man who had taken his place, maybe even hated him. It wasn't like Alex. "What do you mean? What's wrong with him?"

"It was Ransik, Jen." Alex got up the courage to look Jen in the eyes once more. "It was Ransik who sent Wes the message. The message that caused Wes to send you and the others back."

"Oh no…." It was far worse than Jen could have imagined; she thought it was bad before but this was worse. Ransik had toyed with Wes's emotions and had won, and now Wes was left to live with his guilt and the pain of a nightmare she wasn't sure he would ever get over. "I have to see him…."

"Jen…" This was getting harder and harder by the moment, he could feel tears drawing near, but he needed to stay strong, keep focused, not let anything get in his way. He just wished that it didn't have to hurt Jen in the process.

"He needs me Alex. Wes needs _me_."

"You….you _can't_ be there for him." He bowed his head down. "You and I both know that. You _can't_ stay here, Jen."

"And we both know that I'm the only person on this planet who will be able to get him through this!" She didn't care if she was shouting; all she cared about was helping Wes, helping him through his pain, helping him get over this and forget about it, helping him to move on with his life.

"Wes is going to need a whole lot more than you kissing him and trying to make it all better." Alex sighed heavily, he didn't like this, he could clearly see how devoted she was to Wes, she loved him more than all the world. "Captain Logan has ordered our return, the others are already getting things set with the time ship, Nadira's already there, Ransik's body has been recovered." He looked Jen directly in the eyes, knowing this was only making matters worse, but he had his orders. "I'm sorry Jen; this is the way it has to be. Even if you could stay, just for a little while, it would only make matters worse for Wes."

Though she hated to admit it, she knew Alex was right. They couldn't stay here, they didn't belong here. This wasn't their time, their home, no matter how much it felt like it. She felt Alex grip her shoulder; she couldn't even bring herself to look him in the eyes. "How long?"

"A couple of hours."

"Can I at least," a few tears rolled down her cheek, as the reality she would have to face, was drawling closer and closer, "…..say goodbye?"

Though it was against his better judgment, knowing in the long run that it might only make matter worse for both Wes and Jen, deep down he knew the two deserved to say goodbye to each other after everything they had been through. He owed them that much, even if Captain Logan would disagree. "Yeah, I think that can be arranged."

* * *

"Are you okay?" asked Lucas, as he went to go sit down next to Nadira, who hadn't said much in the last twenty-four hours. It had been a hard time for her, first handing James over to his father, which had been a very hard thing for her to do, even though all she wanted to do for months was get the little boy back with his family. She just never thought it would be so hard. And then learning the news about her father's demise had been equally as difficult.

"I will be." She smiled faintly. "Thank you," she replied as he handed her a cup of tea.

"I thought you should know that because of your actions in this whole ordeal, with the boy and everything, that Alex was able to work out a deal to help with your case."

Nadira nodded her head and smiled faintly. "Thank you." She watched as Lucas got up from his seat. "Can I ask you something?" she asked as she took a sip of her tea. Lucas turned around to face her. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

That was a question he had been pondering himself for the last few hours. Why was he being so nice? If she was anyone else, he would have her cuffed or locked up in containment in the time ship. So why hadn't he? Even though Trip and Katie could see that she had reformed they both still wanted to contain her in some way, but he had objected to the idea - saying he would stay with her while they finished getting everything loaded up. "I don't know….. I just felt like…. I don't know." He knew his memories of being in this time period had been erased. Even when he met Wes in the hospital he had no recollection of ever knowing him, but with Nadira he felt like something might had happened between them, why he didn't know. Maybe it would always feel like that, maybe in time his memories of Wes would return or maybe it would all just go away in time. But still…. "Did something ever happen between us?"

Nadira just smiled. "I guess you could say we went out on a date once."

"A date?" Not exactly the answer he was expecting, but he wasn't going to object to it either, as if for some reason some part of him, hidden deep inside, knew it to be true. "Could you, maybe, tell me about it? Maybe it will help me remember?"

"Won't your memories just be erased again?"

"Probably, but I'd just like to know, if that's okay with you."

"Okay. It all started….."

Outside on the beach, Katie and Trip had finished packing up the containers with the help of Cole, Danny, Max, and Alyssa.

"Thanks for the help, guys," announced Trip.

"No problem," exclaimed Danny. "We're happy to do it."

"Besides, you guys helped us take down the bad guys and got Silver Hills back," added Max.

"I just wish you didn't have to leave so soon," said Alyssa. "It would have been nice to spend more time with each other, hang out."

"We would have liked that, but our Captain wants us all to return as soon as possible," said Katie.

"Well, it's been a pleasure working with you," smiled Cole, holding out his hand to Trip. "It's good to know that the future will be in good hands."

"Yeah, well, we have a lot to live up to," smiled Trip. Though they didn't know each other long, both sides knew that no matter how much time went by, that the Earth would always be protected.

* * *

Jen rolled the wheelchair into the room where Wes had been placed. She found Mr. Collins, Wes's father, sitting close to his son's bedside. He appeared very relieved to have his son back with him, even though he looked like someone had used him as a punching bag. If it were Halloween Wes would be set to go as a mummy with all the bandages he had around him.

Wes slowly opened his eyes; he hadn't been asleep, only resting his eyes. He turned his head and found Jen staring back at him, her face both sad and happy, a feeling he knew all too well. He turned back to his father. "Dad, could you give Jen and me some time alone?"

Collins looked from his son to Jen. He knew very well that his son loved Jen and that she too loved him back, but he also knew the reality of them ever being able to have a life together was unlikely, given their situation. So it only seemed right to give them the time they had together. "Sure, son." He got up and smiled at Jen on his way out of the room.

"How are you feeling?" asked Wes, and Jen rolled over to him.

"Better than you, from the looks of it." She smiled, trying to hold back all the sadness, all the tears, of having to say goodbye to the man she loved more than anything, knowing that she probably would never see him again.

Wes abruptly laughed. "Yeah, Ransik really did a number on me; if it wasn't for the Quantum Morpher I probably wouldn't be here." He reached his hand out to touch her face, gently caressing it, just wanting to remember every feature of her face. "I'm just glad you're okay."

Jen took his hand in hers. She wished they could have all the time in the world, not just a couple of measly hours that just wasn't enough. Not for them, not when their relationship was just beginning, it wasn't supposed to end this way. "….You could have told me, you know." No longer able to hold back her tears.

It brought tears to Wes's eyes as he clutched at her hand tightly, never wanting to let it go. "I was afraid and ashamed, and now, knowing that Ransik…." It just made things all the worse.

"You can't keep blaming yourself, Wes, it isn't healthy."

"But if…" he bit his lip; it was just so painful…. "…if I hadn't listened, if I hadn't sent you back, then…."

Jen pushed herself out of the wheelchair and wrapped her arms tightly around Wes, holding him close to her. "We don't know what would have happened. And the thing with the Silver Guardians wasn't your fault either; the morpher was just trying to protect you."

"I just want it all to go away…. I just want to forget that it ever happened…." He cried, no longer able to hold anything back, he clutched tightly at Jen, needing the closeness of her love, her strength.

"I know." Jen looked into his face, tears sparkling in both of their eyes. "…I know." She kissed him, a kiss full of love, a kiss that meant everything to both of them, a kiss they wished could last for all time and take them to a place where they could just forget about the past.

Outside the room, Alex watched with a heavy heart through the window. He knew Jen was right, Wes did need her, more than ever, more than he ever had before, but things just weren't that simple. There were too many complications. "It's not fair," he heard a voice say from behind him.

"No… No it isn't."

It had been Eric, both he and Taylor now joined Alex, watching the two for a moment before turning away, giving them their privacy. "Isn't there anything you can do?" asked Taylor, as she turned to Alex, as they walked down the hall. "Pull a few strings?"

"If only it were that simple." It just didn't seem right leaving things this way, Wes deserved to have more than just getting his morpher back; both he and Jen deserved to be happy. "The truth is, I'm already in hot water with Time Force officials for not putting Jen through memory adaptation from before."

"And you can't just leave without her?" asked Eric.

Alex shook his head. "No, if I did, they would only send in a team to bring her back in."

"What about me then?"

The three turned to find Merrick leaning against a wall; no one had seen or heard from him since yesterday. "What are you talking about?" asked Alex.

"You guys are from the year 3000, right?" Alex nodded his head. "And I'm from 3000 years in the past…."

"I know… but just because it happened once, doesn't mean it can happen again, what happened to you was supposed to happen."

"And maybe Jen is supposed to stay here," added Eric.

Alex shook his head. "No she's not. I already talked with Captain Logan and a few others, that made it clear that Jen was not to remain in this time period." He rubbed the back of his neck. "The only thing they did agree to was that no one would have to go through memory adaptation."

"So then….this is it." Taylor was never one for being a romantic, but she hated to see two people who loved each other not be able to be together. She had already watched it with Merrick and Princess Shayla, and now she would have to watch it with Wes and Jen. "They have to say goodbye to each other."

"Excuse me, there's something I need to do," announced Merrick, taking off like he had done so many times before. But no one really noticed his departure, they were all too engrossed in the present situation with Wes and Jen.

There was a faint beep. _"Alex, it's Katie…."_

Alex sighed heavily. "Go ahead, Katie…."

_"It's time…"_ The sound of her voice told everyone she wasn't happy, knowing that Jen deserved to have every moment with Wes, but Logan had just contacted them again, telling them it was time to head back home.

"I'll go and get Jen, we'll be there soon." Alex then shared a glance with Eric and Taylor; no words needed to be said for what lay ahead.

* * *

Merrick walked into the secret garden on the Animarium, feeling the wind against his face. He looked up to the sky, the bright yellow sun shown down on him."Animusmy old friend, if you're still out there, I have a favor to ask of you…."

Unbeknown to Merrick, Princess Shayla was watching him from behind the bushes, a bright gentle smile on her face. She closed her eyes, as if she too was trying to reach out to an old friend they both had lost many, many years ago.

* * *

Alex knocked. "I'm sorry, it's time…." He hated to do it, but he really didn't have any other choice. "I'll wait for you outside."

Once they were alone again, they faced each other once more. Wes gently wiped away one of Jen's falling tears. "Jen, don't worry, I'll be….."

"Wes…." Jen stopped him, knowing very well he wasn't going to be fine, the moment she walked out that door his world would really go crashing down, and hers too.

"It'll be okay. It's just going to take time." He pulled her closer to kiss her lips, wanting to treasure this moment for as long as he lived, wanting her lips to be the very last he would ever kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too. I just wish that I knew you'll be okay."

He forced a smile. "I'm sure my dad and Eric will make sure that I am."

Jen ran her fingers through Wes' hair. She didn't want it to end, she didn't want to say goodbye, but she knew she didn't have a choice. "I'm so sorry." She kissed him once more, and then ran straight for the door, only to be stopped by Alex.

Alex just looked at her for a moment, unsure of what to say, his face was full of confusion, but then a joyous smile appeared. "They changed their minds, you can stay!"

"What?" Jen couldn't believe it; she looked back to Wes, who apparently had overheard, his face just as confused. "But…but how?"

"I don't really know how to explain it, they were having just as much trouble explaining it to me, but somehow unbeknownst to me and to them, you've become part of this timeline."

"How could of something like that happen?" asked Wes, from across the room.

Alex shook his head. "I don't know, all I do know is that you can stay, Jen, if that is what you want." But he already knew the answer. Though it would be difficult for her to have to leave her old life behind, he knew that she would give it all up in a heartbeat to be with Wes. "I'll make sure to tell the others goodbye for you."

"Alex." She flung her arms around him. "Thank you, for everything."

"Don't thank me, I didn't do anything." He returned her embrace. "I just hope that you'll be happy here." He looked into Jen's eyes. "Because you and Wes have a long road together, before things will ever be the same."

"I know, and that's a challenge I'm willing to take."

Alex smiled; he leaned in and kissed her gently on the cheek. He looked at Wes once more, waving. "Once you get back on your feet, you better take care of her."

"You have my word." Wes reached out to take Jen's hand. "As long as she's with me, I can get through anything."

"Well….I'd better get going, can't keep the others waiting." And with that said, Alex bid himself farewell and exited the room, leaving Jen and Wes once more together alone, but this time not planning to return.

No words had to be said, for the joy the two were feeling as they looked in each other's eyes. Though they both knew there lay a long road ahead for them both, having to adjust to everything that had happened, for Jen having to get used to living a thousand years in the past or for Wes, needing to learn how to forgive himself for his mistake, but they knew that for as long as they were together they would be able to accomplish anything.

Outside the room, Collins and Eric watched the two as they shared another gentle kiss. Collins was both happy that his son was alive, and that his son truly looked happy to be with the woman he loved. He might not know Jen very well, but his son was in love with her and that was enough.

"Looks like everything is going to be okay," announced Collins.

"Looks that way," replied Eric. "All we've got to do now is rebuild the city."

"And we will, but for now let's just enjoy this moment…."


End file.
